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THE 

KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

FORMING   A  CHARACTER    PORTRAIT   OF 

EMPEROR  WILLIAM  II. 


TRANSLATED  AND  EDITED 
WITH     ANNOTATIONS     BY 

WOLF    von    SCHIERBRAND 

BASED  UPON  A  COMPILATION 
MADE  BY 

A.    OSCAR    KLAUSSMANN 


HARPER     £r     BROTHERS     PUBLISHERS 

NEW    YORK     AND     LONDON 

1903 


Copyright,  1903,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Att  rights  ristrved. 
Published  April,  1903. 


NOTE 


A  word  as  to  the  material  used  in  the  preparation 
of  this  book  Above  all,  let  it  be  said  that  it  is  strictly 
authentic.  Every  care  has  been  taken  to  eliminate 
from  the  contents  statements  which  could  not  be  traced 
to  a  trustworthy  source.  The  larger  number  of  the 
speeches  and  other  utterances  by  the  present  German 
Emperor  were  taken  in  their  German  guise  from  the 
very  recent  compilation  sanctioned  by  the  Kaiser  him- 
self and  published  by  A.  Oscar  Klaussmann,  a  well- 
known  writer  in  Germany.  They  were  rendered  into 
English  by  me.  The  others  that  appear  in  this  book 
were  obtained  from  similarly  trustworthy  data — the 
original  German  versions  being  also  used  in  every  in- 
stance. 

The  comment  and  explanatory  text  are  mine.  These 
must  be  accepted  by  the  reader  for  what  they  are 
worth.  It  may  help  to  gauge  their  value  accurately 
if  mention  is  made  that  I  spent  many  years  in  Ber- 
lin as  chief  correspondent  for  the  Associated  Press  of 
America,  returning  recently  to  this  country.  It  has 
been  my  earnest  endeavor  to  make  both  explanations 
and  comment  accurate  and  unbiased. 

It  was  found  necessary  to  include  material  in  this 
book  not  found  in  Klaussmann's  compilation,  Possi- 
bly these  omissions  in  the  latter  are  due  to  the  fact 
that  this  category  of  imperial  expressions  no  longer 
finds  imperial  approval.     This  additional  material  was, 

iii 


NOTE 

however,  included,  because  without  it  no  full  view  of 
the  strangely  many-sided  character  of  William  II. 
could  be  had.  On  the  other  hand,  much  of  the  mat- 
ter in  Klaussmann's  compilation  has  been  either  ab- 
breviated or  left  out.  The  sole  reason  for  this  was  in 
every  case  that  it  was  not  of  sufficient  general  inter- 
est, that  it  was  elsewhere  repeated  (literally  or  in 
substance),  or  that  it  was  merely  introductory  to  the 
core  of  the  subject  itself. 

The  Italians  have  a  saying,  Traduttore,  traditore — 
"The  translator  is  a  traitor."  I  venture  to  hope  that 
the  English  garb  I  have  given  the  Kaiser's  German 
speeches  will  not  corroborate  this  pithy  and  pictu- 
resque statement,  for  I  have  throughout  striven  hard 
to  reproduce  the  essentials  of  the  original — viz.,  the 
train  of  thought,  the  spirit  of  each  utterance,  and  the 
peculiar  phrasing  of  it.  However,  I  am  free  to  con- 
fess that  the  task  of  putting  the  Kaiser's  German  into 
adequate  English  has  been  more  than  ordinarily  dif- 
ficult, inasmuch  as  his  German  is  very  idiomatic — 
bristling  with  proverbs,  sayings,  and  peculiar  modes 
of  speech  (many  of  them  self-coined),  and  showing 
that  wonderful  flexibility  of  German  syntax,  coupled, 
however,  with  as  wonderful  complexity  of  construc- 
tion. In  some  cases  the  new  English  garment  will  not 
fit  quite  as  neatly  as  might  be  wished.  Yet  this  at 
least  may  be  claimed  for  it :  it  is  as  true  to  the  original 
as  the  limitations  of  language  would  permit. 

The  Author. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


By  Way  of  Preface xiii 

Introductory     xxi 


THE 
KAISER    FOR    PEACE   AND    RECONCILIATION 

I.  The  Maintenance  of  World  Peace. — The  Kaiser's  visits 
to  Russia,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  undertaken,  after  ascend- 
ing the  throne,  for  purposes  of  conciliation  and  friendship — 
Emphatic  rejection  of  French  hints  to  purchase  permanent 
peace  by  restoring  Alsace-Lorraine — Significant  speeches  dur- 
ing his  visit  to  England  —  Relations  with  his  Austrian  and 
Italian  allies — Toasting  the  Czar — The  Kaiser  and  the  cession 
of  Heligoland — Receiving  the  Austrian  and  Italian  monarchs 
in  Berlin — The  death  of  Alexander  III. — Peace  manifestations 
at  the  opening  of  the  Baltic  Canal Page  3 


II.  The  Kaiser  and  France. — His  interesting  relations  with 
the  French  statesman,  Jules  Simon  —  A  graphic  portrait 
— Failure  of  the  Empress  Frederick's  visit  to  Paris — Tele- 
grams and  letters  of  condolence — The  Kaiser  and  the  Dreyfus 
affair  —  The  incident  of  the  Iphigenie  —  Kaiser's  magnan- 
imous speech  on  the  battle-field  of  St.  Privat  —  His  toast 
to  his  French  guest,  General  Bonnal,  and  to  the  French 
army Page  27 


III.  The   Kaiser  and   the  Catholic   Church. — Clear  rec- 
ognition of  the  necessity  of  re-establishing  religious  harmony 

V 


CONTENTS 

in  the  empire — Interesting  letters  to  Cardinal  Hohenlohe — 
His  first  interview  with  the  Pope — Patriotic  addresses  to  new 
German  Catholic  Church  dignitaries — Correspondence  with 
the  Roman  Pontiff — Second  meeting  with  Leo  XIII.- — Gift 
of  the  Dormition  in  Palestine  to  the  German  Catholics — The 
Kaiser's  mention  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  of  a  papal  utterance  re- 
garding himself Page  55 


IV.  The  Kaiser  and  the  Laboring  Classes. — Pro-labor 
promises  on  his  accession — Legislation  in  favor  of  ameliorating 
the  condition  of  the  German  working-classes — The  Kaiser  as 
mediator  during  a  great  coal  strike — German  anti-accident 
exhibition — Congress  at  Berlin  convened  by  the  Kaiser  to 
devise  means  for  the  betterment  of  the  laborer's  lot — Imperial 
warnings  against  socialistic  influences — His  harsh  description 
of  the  German  socialists — Why  the  Kaiser  lost  interest  in 
further  pro-labor  legislation Page  69 


V.  The  Kaiser  and  Alsace-Lorraine.  —  Promoting  the 
spirit  of  loyalty  in  the  annexed  provinces — The  beneficial  in- 
fluence of  his  frequent  visits  there — Speeches  to  delegations 
— His  chateau  near  Courcelles,  and  his  neighborly  relations 
with  the  people Page  87 


VI.  The  Kaiser  and  England.  —  His  repeated  visits  to 
England  —  Until  the  close  of  1895  his  popularity  in  Eng- 
land unquestioned  —  The  Kaiser  and  the  British  navy  — 
His  toast  at  the  Lord  Mayor's  banquet  —  Hinting  at  Anglo- 
German  naval  alliance — Congo  incident  leads  to  first  criti- 
cism by  the  English  press  —  The  Kaiser's  Kriiger  despatch 
and  its  consequences — His  undiminished  hospitality  to  Eng- 
lish guests — Continuance  of  English  press  hostility — Dynas- 
tic relations  nevertheless  consistently  pleasant  —  Views  of 
Cecil  Rhodes  and  Sir  Edwards  Reed  on  the  Kaiser  —  Hon- 
oring Lord  Roberts  —  The  Kaiser  and  the  death  of  the 
Queen Page  96 


VII.  The  Kaiser  and  the  United  States. — How  his  views 
regarding  this  country  underwent  a  complete  change  by  the 

vi 


CONTENTS 

Spanish-American  War — His  reply  to  the  late  Ambassador 
Phelps — His  telegram  at  the  Columbus  celebration — Con- 
doling with  us  on  the  loss  of  the  Maine — The  Coghlan  inci- 
dent— Interchange  of  telegrams  between  him  and  Presidents 
McKinley  and  Roosevelt — Prince  Henry's  visit — Presentation 
of  a  statue  of  Frederick  the  Great — Some  interesting  remarks 
by  the  Kaiser  touching  recent  political  and  commercial  de- 
velopment here Page  in 


PROMOTING  THE  WELFARE  OP  THE  EMPIRE 

VIII.  The  Kaiser  and  the  Unity  Idea. — He  is  the  chief 
instrument  of  imperial  consolidation — Constant  iteration  of 
the  necessity  of  national  unanimity — The  empire's  jubilee  in 
1896 — The  Kaiser's  speeches  and  decrees  on  that  occasion — 
His  commemoration  of  the  centenary  of  William  J.'s  birth — 
His  oration  at  the  dedicatory  festivities  of  the  Marien- 
burg Page  127 


IX.  The  Kaiser  and  the  Allied  German  Rulers. — 
Peculiar  difficulties  that  stood  in  the  way  of  winning  their 
confidence — Relations  with  the  Bavarian  royal  house — Those 
with  Saxony,  Wurtemberg,  Baden,  Hesse,  and  minor  dynasties 
— The  Kaiser's  skilful  use  of  blood  relationship  with  a  num- 
ber of  his  allied  "colleagues" — Repeated  misunderstandings 
between  him  and  the  Bavarian  house — Panegyric  upon  his 
uncle  of  Baden Page  138 


X.  The  Kaiser  and  the  German  Army. — His  exceedingly 
intimate  relations  with  it — Rejuvenation  process — His  letter 
to  Moltke — The  Kaiser's  attempts  to  uproot  extravagance 
in  the  army — Partial  reorganization  and  enlargement  of  the 
army — A  telegram  praising  the  Poles  of  Prussia — His  speeches 
to  the  recruits — The  Kaiser's  characterization  of  the  socialists 
— His  decree  to  limit  duelling  in  the  army — His  conception 
of  a  "good  soldier" — Calling  the  army  "the  most  important 
legacy  left"  by  his  grandfather — Reviving  military  traditions 
— His  order  prohibiting  gaming  and  usury  in  the  army — 
Beginning  the  century  a  year  in  advance — The  peculiar  class 

vii 


CONTENTS 

spirit  bred  in  the  army  by  the  Kaiser — Revolutionary  remi- 
niscences      Page  152 


XI.  The  Kaiser  and  the  German  Navy. — Its  creation 
mainly  owing  to  him — His  incessant  solicitude  for  it — The 
secret  of  the  Kaiser's  thorough  knowledge  of  naval  affairs 
—  Preparatory  studies  while  still  Prince  William  —  Expert 
lectures  to  his  officers — Outlining  Germany's  naval  strategy 
in  the  event  of  war — The  Kaiser's  confessed  ambition  is  to 
make  his  navy  equally  formidable  with  the  army  —  His 
speeches  to  the  naval  recruits  —  His  effective  agitation  for 
a  big  navy — The  Kaiser  enlightens  the  German  Society  of 
Naval  Architects Page  179 


XII.  Launchings  of  Vessels.  —  Stirring  and  patriotic 
speeches  made  by  the  Kaiser  on  these  occasions — Pointing 
to  the  future  when  Germany  is  to  be  a  great  maritime  power — 
His  parallels  drawn  from  history,  Teutonic  mythology,  and 
folk-lore — "We  bitterly  need  a  powerful  German  navy" — 
Strong  public  censure  for  his  opponents  in  the  Reichstag — 
Pointed  references  to  American  advance — Emphasizing  the 
idea  of  a  world  power Page  198 


XIII.  The  Kaiser  and  Higher  Education.  —  His  own 
experience  in  a  German  public  school — A  letter  by  him  in 
which  he  drastically  points  out  shortcomings  of  the  prevailing 
system — School  reforms  planned  by  him  at  his  accession — 
The  cadet  academies  the  first  to  be  modelled  by  him — The 
great  "School  Reform  Quest"  in  1890 — Remarkable  address 
delivered  by  him  on  that  occasion  —  Radical  changes  ad- 
vocated— Healthful  sport  recommended — Teachers  must  in- 
fuse patriotism  in  their  pupils'  minds  —  How  he  thought 
socialism  could  be  extirpated — Wants  the  youth  of  his  coun- 
try to  be  taught  how  to  become  patriotic  Germans,  not 
Romans  or  Greeks — Insisting  on  the  high  value  of  technical 
training — Summing  up  his  reform  ideas     .     .     .     Page  206 


XIV.  Relations  to  Art  and  Science. — The  Kaiser's  early 
artistic  talent — One  of  his  paintings  at  a  Berlin  exposition — 

viii 


CONTENTS 

His  intercourse  with  Baron  von  Berger  and  with  many  other 
artists — How  he  decorated  the  orchestral  leader  Muck — His 
address  to  the  members  of  the  royal  theatres — "Nurse  the 
ancient  traditions" — His  conception  of  art  and  its  mission — 
Donating  the  Schack  collection  to  the  city  of  Munich — Con- 
ferring the  highest  Prussian  decoration  on  Menzel — His  sharp 
condemnation  of  the  German  "Secession" — Private  lectures 
to  him  by  leading  inventors — His  speech  at  the  bicentenary 
of  the  Prussian  Academy  of  Sciences — Attending  the  Nurem- 
berg celebration  of  the  Germanic  Museum — Bavarian  indig- 
nation at  an  imperial  telegram Page  224 


XV.  Furthering  Commerce  and  Navigation. — Dedicating 
the  free  port  of  Hamburg — Inspecting  the  ships  of  the  North 
German  Lloyd — Promising  all  possible  aid  to  German  ship- 
ping— The  Kaiser  explains  his  programme  on  board  a  Lloyd 
steamer — Lauding  the  progressive  spirit  of  the  Stettin  citizens 
— His  ideas  about  aquatic  sports — The  Dortmund-Ems  Canal 
— His  despatch  after  the  great  Lloyd  fire  in  Hoboken — Con- 
gratulating the  record-breaker  Deutschland — Significant  words 
in  Danzig — Emphasizing  the  need  of  a  large  navy  .  Page  240 


XVI.  The  Kaiser  and  the  Troubles  in  China. — His  re- 
markable addresses  to  his  parting  troops — "I  will  not  rest 
until  the  German  flag  flies  above  the  walls  of  Peking" — A 
cablegram  from  the  German  merchants  of  Shanghai — "Spare 
nobody,  make  no  prisoners" — "This  may  be  the  beginning 
of  a  war  between  Occident  and  Orient" — The  Kaiser's  con- 
tradictory estimates  of  Chinese  character  —  Censuring  Ad- 
miral Seymour's  strategy — His  pompous  farewell  to  Field- 
marshal  Waldersee — Reply  to  Prince  Chun     .     .     Page  256 


THE   KAISER   IN    MORE   INTIMATE  CIRCLES 

XVII.  The  Kaiser's  Ideal. — Among  his  ancestors  it  is  the 
"Great  Elector"  of  Brandenburg  whom  he  specially  admires 
and  by  whom  he  takes  pattern — Drawing  a  parallel  between 
that   ruler   and  himself  —  Dedicating   a  monument  at   Kiel 

to  him Page  269 

jx 


CONTENTS 

XVIII.  The  Kaiser  and  His  Family. — The  Kaiser's  investi- 
ture as  a  knight  of  the  order  of  St.  John — The  graceful  com- 
pliment he  paid  his  spouse  in  her  native  province — "May  you 
ever  rely  upon  me  and  my  protection  " — His  faith  in  the  divine- 
right  dogma — Eulogizing  his  father,  the  Crown -prince — Ex- 
tolling "kingship  by  God's  grace  " — Thanking  the  Reichstag  for 
a  monument  to  his  father — Welcoming  back  his  brother  Henry 
— The  Kaiser's  idea  of  a  "  world-historical  moment  of  the  first 
magnitude" — His  Latin  telegram  to  Professor  Mommsen — Ex- 
hibiting the  imperial  insignia  to  strengthen  the  loyalty  of  his  sub- 
jects— His  bombastic  address  to  the  Bonn  students  .  Page  277 


XIX.  The  Kaiser  as  Margrave  of  Brandenburg. — Feels 
special  pride  in  the  title — Reasons  for  his  intimate  relations 
with  the  representatives  of  this  province — Calls  it  the  cradle 
and  primal  source  of  Hohenzollern  power  —  His  sensational 
and  frank  utterances  before  the  Brandenburg  Provincial 
Chambers — Terms  Bismarck,  Moltke,  and  Roon  "mere  tools 
of  the  august  will"  of  William  I. — Emphasizing  the  divine 
right  of  monarchs Page  294 


XX.  The  Kaiser  in  His  University  Relations. — As  mem- 
ber of  his  "corps"  in  Bonn  University — His  connection  with 
it  as  alter  Herr — Replying  to  a  toast  at  a  commcrs  a  year  be- 
fore his  accession  —  As  Kaiser  he  upholds  the  customary 
student  duels — Initiating  his  eldest  son  in  1901 — Preaching 
the  doctrine  of  nationalism  to  the  students  —  His  remarks 
about  German  enviousness — "We  need  personalities,  men" 
— Emphasizing  the  need  of  ideals Page  307 


XXI.  The  Kaiser's  Palestine  Trip. — His  speech  to  the 
German  colony  in  Constantinople — Advising  the  German  Prot- 
estants in  Jerusalem  to  show  "Practical  Christianity" — Ex- 
pressing in  Bethlehem  his  disappointment  at  prevailing  con- 
ditions in  the  Holy  Land — Disbelieves  in  proselytizing  among 
Mohammedans — "  Exempla  docent" — The  Templar  colony  in 
Jerusalem — Assuring  the  Germans  in  Palestine  of  his  protec- 
tion—  Telling  the  Mohammedans  that  the  German  Kaiser 
will  be  at  all  times  their  friend — Reply  to  welcoming  words 

on  his  return Page  313 

x 


CONTENTS 


XXII.  The  Kaiser  as  a  Pulpit  Orator. — His  sermons  on 
board  the  Hohenzollern  usually  delivered  off-hand,  without 
notes  —  Interesting  changes  in  his  religious  tenets  —  As  a 
pulpit  orator  he  shows  a  striking  resemblance  to  sensational 
preachers  in  this  country Page  323 


BY   WAY   OF    PREFACE 


If  I  were  asked  the  question,  What  effect,  on  the 
whole,  have  the  Kaiser's  speeches  had?  my  deliberate 
answer  would  be,  On  the  whole,  a  good  one.  And  in 
making  such  answer  I  am  well  aware  that  it  runs 
counter  to  the  preconceived  opinion,  both  in  this 
country  and  in  England.  But  it  is,  I  honestly  be- 
lieve, nevertheless,  the  true  and  fair  one. 

Let  us  investigate  the  subject,  and,  in  investigating, 
rid  our  minds  of  all  bias  either  way.  In  doing  this, 
it  is  necessary  to  dwell  on  a  few  facts  which  are,  per- 
haps, not  always  considered,  or,  if  considered,  not 
given  due  weight. 

For  one  thing,  then,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  Kaiser,  in  most  cases,  is  talking  to  his  people,  the 
Germans.  And  with  all  their  high  mental  culture, 
their  many  sterling  qualities,  the  Germans  are,  in 
political  education,  at  least  a  whole  century  behind 
either  England  or  the  United  States.  The  frank  and 
well-instructed  minds  of  Germany,  those  who  have 
travelled  or  resided  abroad  long  enough  to  form  an 
intelligent  opinion,  admit  this,  irrespective  of  party 
ties.  Now,  in  speaking  to  such  a  people  —  a  people 
in  its  overwhelming  majority  composed  of  monarchists 
by  conviction  and  tradition,  steeped  in  the  faith  that 
good  can  come  to  them,  if  at  all,  only  through  and 
by  their  rulers,  it  must  be  manifest  to  every  unprej- 
udiced person  that  modes  of  speech  and  methods  of 

xiii 


BY  WAY  OF   PREFACE 

style  must  be  adopted  to  produce  a  given  effect  differ- 
ent from  those  that  would  produce  a  similar  effect  on 
a  nation  politically  more  advanced. 

That  the  Kaiser  himself  knows  this  full  well  is  proven 
by  the  fact  that  when  speaking  to  representatives  of 
other  nations  —  to  Americans,  Englishmen,  even 
Frenchmen — he  never  makes  use  of  the  flamboyant, 
dictatorial,  oracular  mode  of  delivering  himself  which 
he,  as  a  rule,  employs  in  his  public  utterances  to  his 
own  people.  Witness,  in  striking  proof  of  this,  his 
speech,  on  July  10,  1891,  at  the  Lord  Mayor's  banquet, 
in  the  Guildhall,  London.  It  might  be  objected  that 
representatives  of  these  nations,  above  all,  Americans 
and  English,  wouldn't  "stand"  such  speeches.  Very 
well,  admit  that — they  wouldn't ;  and  the  Kaiser  knows 
it,  and  does  not  talk  to  them,  or  of  them,  in  that  ob- 
jectionable manner,  which  simply  proves  the  conten- 
tion. He  usually  gauges  his  audience  quite  keenly  and 
accurately,  and  he  tells  them  that  which  he  thinks 
will  be  good  for  them.  That  he,  with  all  that,  is  quite 
honest  in  his  "ruler -by -divine -right"  belief,  admits 
scarcely  of  doubt,  and  does  not  alter  the  above  fact. 
To  the  vast  majority  of  the  Germans  of  to-day  neither 
the  subject-matter  of  his  innumerable  speeches  nor 
their  peculiar  flavor  is  at  all  distasteful.  Many  of  them 
touched  chords  in  the  German  soul  which  would  not 
have  vibrated  otherwise;  not  only  touched  them,  but 
stirred  them  so  electrically  as  to  produce  action  and 
lasting  effect  on  the  various  phases  of  national  life. 

Turning  now  to  the  peculiar  conditions  in  which  the 
German  Empire  is  placed,  it  will  readily  be  seen  that 
they  account  for  much  that  seems  strange  to  us  in  his 
talk.  For  the  young  empire  is  all  the  while  contend- 
ing against  a  sea  of  troubles,  both  within  and  without. 
As  to  the  troubles  within,  they  are,  just  to  mention 
the  chief  ones,  three:    The  absolute  necessity  of  a 

xiv 


BY  WAY  OF   PREFACE 

firmer  consolidation;  the  splitting  up  of  political  life 
into  a  score  of  factions,  none  of  which  is  alone  able  to 
accomplish  anything;  and  the  socialist  danger.  And 
as  regards  the  foreign  situation,  we  see  Germany  sur- 
rounded, east  and  west  and  north,  by  powerful  foes, 
forever  on  the  watch,  quick  and  willing  to  seize  a  really 
favorable  opportunity  for  the  dismemberment  of  the 
empire.  We  see  her,  besides,  in  the  stress  of  a  fierce 
and  never-abating  competition,  political  and  commer- 
cial, with  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  And  yet  the  em- 
pire's soil  is  inferior  in  fertility  and  resources  to  that 
of  her  neighbors  and  most  of  her  rivals. 

Now  let  us  see  what  purposes  the  Kaiser  has  chiefly 
had  in  view  when  speaking  publicly.  In  the  main, 
these  purposes  have  been  the  following:  To  preserve 
the  peace  of  the  world,  enabling  Germany  to  develop 
internally  and  to  reap  calmly  the  fruits  of  her  efforts 
in  industry,  commerce,  science,  invention ;  to  strength- 
en the  bonds  of  cohesion  which  hold  the  empire  to- 
gether; to  foster  and  direct  the  expansion  of  Germany 
in  political  and  commercial  fields.  .No  one  reading  his 
speeches  in  their  totality  can  help  the  deduction  that 
his  main  programme  as  a  ruler  is  bounded  by  the  lim- 
its defined  above.  But  it  will  repay  the  trouble  to  go 
a  little  more  into  details  here. 

As  to  his  efforts  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  world, 
his  visits,  at  the  outset  of  his  reign  and  since,  to  Russia, 
England,  Austria,  Italy,  and  elsewhere,  and  his  toasts 
and  speeches,  telegrams  and  letters,  give  abundant 
proof  that  he  was  sincere,  untiring,  and  successful  in 
these  labors.  In  the  light  supplied  by  them  there  re- 
mains scarcely  a  doubt  that  it  was  principally  owing 
to  him  that  no  war  broke  out  between  Russia  and 
France  on  the  one  hand,  and  Germany,  Austria,  and 
Italy  on  the  other,  any  time  from  1888  to  the  death 
of  Czar  Alexander  III.,  in  the  autumn  of  1894.     He 

xv 


BY  WAY  OF   PREFACE 

made  skilful  use  of  the  only  effective  means  at  hand  to 
prevent  this  war — he  convinced  his  adversaries  that 
Germany  wanted  no  war,  and  would  do  everything 
she  honorably  could  to  avoid  it,  and  he  convinced  them 
equally  of  the  fact  that  Germany  would  fight  hard, 
and  go  into  the  fray  prepared  for  a  life-and-death 
struggle  if  forced  into  it.  The  latter  conviction  he 
contrived  to  convey  by  repeated  and  enormous  en- 
largements of  the  German  army  during  that  period, 
and  by  knitting  tighter  the  Triple  Alliance.  The 
evidence  is  as  irresistible  in  regard  to  the  other  two 
tasks  he  had  set  himself.  No  close  observer  of  Ger- 
man internal  affairs  will  deny  that  the  Kaiser  has 
succeeded  to  an  unprecedented  degree  in  strengthen- 
ing and  multiplying  the  cohesive  forces  that  bind  the 
young  empire  together.  He  has  wiped  out  the  strife 
between  the  Catholic  Church  and  the  Protestant  state 
in  Germany,  known  under  the  name  of  Culturkampf, 
and  which  he  took  over  as  an  inheritance  from  Bis- 
marck. He  has  made  loyal  disaffected  Alsace-Lor- 
raine. He  has  made  the  relations  between  Emperor 
and  the  co-ordinated  German  sovereigns  much  more 
intimate  and  pleasant.  He  has  vastly  improved  and 
doubled  the  size  of  the  army.  He  has  created  the 
formidable  German  navy. 

As  to  Germany's  expansion,  political  and  com- 
mercial, the  Kaiser  is  practically  responsible  for  it. 
That  the  world  admits.  And  the  same  remark  ap- 
plies to  Germany's  internal  advance  in  all  material 
things — industry,  trade,  shipping,  applied  science,  gen- 
eral prosperity.  It  is  no  mere  coincidence  that  the 
last  decade  of  the  Kaiser's  reign  has  seen  Germany 
bound  forward  on  the  path  of  expansion  at  a  mar- 
vellous rate.  It  is  largely  due  to  his  unbending  en- 
ergies in  that  direction. 

Thus,    then,    the    Kaiser's    hundreds    of    speeches 

xvi 


BY  WAY  OF   PREFACE 

subserving  these  chief  purposes  of  his,  have  unques- 
tionably produced  vast  good,  not  to  his  country  and 
people  alone,  but  to  the  world  at  large,  inasmuch  as 
they  have  served  to  render  war  impossible,  and  in  that 
manner  have  contributed  immensely  to  the  welfare 
of  mankind  as  a  whole. 

But  there  is  an  entire  category  of  his  speeches 
which  has  achieved  not  good,  but  evil.  In  it  belong 
his  many  public  utterances  against  political  liberalism, 
for  whose  dwindling  away  in  Germany  he  is  mainly 
responsible ;  his  amazingly  violent  diatribes  and  insults 
hurled  against  the  socialists  of  Germany,  comprising, 
it  must  be  remembered,  one -fourth  or  more  of  the 
entire  population;  those  against  the  freedom  of  the 
press  and  against  the  new  literature  and  art  of  Ger- 
many ;  and  also  those  many  wild  and  irrational  sayings 
and  orders  to  his  officers,  soldiers,  and  recruits.  Of 
the  latter,  no  doubt,  some  at  least  were  momentary 
ebullitions,  not  to  be  taken  seriously.  One  may  arrive 
at  that  conclusion  because  they  have  been  excluded, 
at  the  implied  behest  of  the  Kaiser  himself,  from 
recent  compilations.  But  enough  of  them  remain  to 
make  the  calm  observer  stand  aghast. 

August  Bebel,  the  socialist  leader,  recently  delivered 
one  of  his  characteristic  speeches  in  the  Reichstag. 
It  was  a  scathing  and  almost  brutally  frank  reply 
to  the  Kaiser's  innumerable  attacks  on  his  party. 
He  cited  some  of  the  most  virulent  anti  -  socialist 
remarks  of  the  Kaiser,  and  stated  that  it  was  but 
human  if  the  socialists,  in  retaliation,  harbored  a  feel- 
ing of  hatred  for  the  head  of  the  nation.  Bebel  is  the 
most  eloquent  and  impressive  orator  in  the  Reichs- 
tag, and  the  most  conspicuous  mouth -piece  of  his 
party,  by  far  the  most  numerous  at  the  polls,  though 
(owing  to  the  unreformed  system  of  districting  the 
constituencies)  by  no  means  in  the  national  parliament. 

xvii 


BY  WAY  OF   PREFACE 

He  is  a  man  who  has  himself  tasted  in  jail  the  bitter- 
ness of  imperial  anger,  having  been  several  times  con- 
demned by  subservient  and  prejudiced  courts  for  Use 
majeste  and  treasonable  talk.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
the  socialist  party  hates  the  Kaiser  intensely,  and 
Bebel's  strictures  —  that  the  Kaiser  constantly  over- 
steps the  limits  of  a  constitutional  ruler,  and  that, 
nevertheless,  he  has  contrived  to  close  up  for  his  ad- 
versaries every  avenue  of  stating  publicly  their  case 
fairly  and  fully  —  were  perfectly  just.  He  was  quite 
right  when  he  said : 

"  A  prince  is  born  a  prince.  Is  it  his  fault?  By  chance  he 
has  become  a  ruler,  and  if  a  prince  is  humane,  is  not  personally 
vindictive  towards  us,  we  shall  never  personally  oppose  him. 
Monarchy  is  an  institution,  not  a  question  of  persons.  It  has 
grown  on  a  historical  foundation.  And,  therefore,  we  are  the 
strongest  opponents  of  the  anarchists,  who  preach  the  assas- 
sination of  rulers.  ..." 

Bebel,  I  say,  is  quite  right  in  what  he  claims.  Any- 
body who  has  been  on  the  inside  of  German  affairs 
knows  that,  in  sober  truth,  the  socialists  there — who 
must  not  be  confounded  in  their  teachings  with  so- 
cialists elsewhere — have  been  and  are  the  most  power- 
ful check  on  the  growth  of  anarchism,  and  have  bene- 
fited the  laboring  classes  in  the  empire  as  all  other 
factors  together  have  not.  The  Kaiser's  dread  of 
them  is  unreasoning  in  his  speeches  and  actions. 

And  while  the  Kaiser's  speeches  have  had  a  most 
unwholesome  effect  on  German  literature  and  art, 
they  have  been  still  more  baneful  as  to  press  condi- 
tions in  the  empire.  It  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  the 
Kaiser  has  throttled  freedom  of  opinion  and  its  ex- 
pression there,  and  this  to  a  degree  without  a  parallel. 
The  press  in  Germany  is  muzzled  and  powerless.  The 
writer  himself  (if  he  may  be  pardoned  for  mentioning 
the  fact)  illustrates  this,  for  he  was  expelled  from  Berlin 

xviii 


BY  WAY  OF   PREFACE 

for  writing,  as  an  American  correspondent,  the  truth 
about  the  Emperor — expelled,  broken  in  health,  ruined 
financially.  I  suppose  it  would  be  but  "human"  in 
Bebel's  sense  if  I,  when  opportunity  offered,  should 
confound  my  private  wrongs  with  the  public  ones 
wrought  by  the  Kaiser's  illiberal  policy  towards  the 
press.  But  that  would  not  be  fair  to  the  reader  nor  to 
the  Kaiser.  It  is,  however,  strictly  within  the  truth 
to  say  that  his  practically  absolute  power  has  given 
the  Kaiser  a  notion  that  he  is  infallible,  and  that  to 
hold,  or,  above  all,  express,  opinions  at  variance  with 
his  own  is  tantamount  to  high  treason,  tantamount  to 
injuring  the  empire's  interests.  That,  again,  is  quite 
"human."  I  do  not  doubt  for  a  moment  the  sincer- 
ity of  his  convictions  and  notions.  In  fact,  his  most 
inveterate  foes  within  the  empire,  the  socialists,  admit 
that  much  themselves.  But  that  does  not  alter  the 
fact  that  Bebel's  charge  is  true— the  Kaiser  goes  in  his 
speeches  and  in  his  whole  public  activity  away  beyond 
constitutional  limits — limits  which  he  solemnly  pledged 
himself  to  adhere  to  on  ascending  the  throne.  How- 
ever, the  point  at  issue  in  this  article  scarcely  concerns 
itself  with  that  question,  interesting  as  it  is. 

Striking  a  general  balance,  after  carefully  weighing 
the  evidence  on  either  side,  I  am  constrained  to  say 
that  I  hold  the  influence  of  the  Kaiser's  speeches,  on 
the  whole,  to  be  a  good  one.  Or  perhaps  it  would  con- 
vey my  meaning  more  clearly  to  say  that  the  good 
effects  outweigh  the  evil  ones. 

The  Kaiser  fills,  no  doubt,  an  exceptional  position 
in  the  world's  eye.  He  is  a  bundle  of  contradictions. 
His  double  lineage  —  Hohenzollern  and  Guelph  —  ac- 
counts for  that.  His  complex  nature  is  nowhere 
mirrored  more  dazzlingly  and  yet  impartially  than  in 
his.  very  speeches.  The  words  from  his  own  mouth 
convict   and  then  again   acquit  him.      As   the  most 

xix 


BY  WAY  OF   PREFACE 

picturesque  personage  on  the  public  stage,  he  must 
always  remain  interesting.  As  a  forceful,  masterful 
individuality  he  impresses  himself  on  the  general  im- 
agination. But  a  good  deal  of  what  is  strange  in  his 
speeches  is  due  not  so  much  to  him  as  to  the  anom- 
alous circumstances  surrounding  him  as  a  ruler. 

Wolf  von  Schierbrand. 

xx 


INTRODUCTORY 


Fraught  with  grave  importance  for  Germany  and 
her  imperial  house,  the  year  1888  set  in  porten- 
tously. For  over  a  twelvemonth  the  political  hori- 
zon had  been  pregnant  with  sombre,  threatening 
clouds. 

Apparently  Germany  was  on  the  eve  of  a  war  which 
she  would  have  to  wage  simultaneously  against  two 
mighty  foes — Russia  and  France.  Czar  Alexander  III. 
was  completely  under  the  domination  of  the  Panslav- 
ists,  and  the  latter  again  under  the  influence  of  the 
French  Nationalists  and  Boulangists,  who  were  urging 
on  war  with  Germany. 

Forged  documents  had  been  played  into  the  hands 
of  the  Czar,  which  necessarily  convinced  him  that  the 
old  friendship  existing  between  Russia  and  Germany 
since  the  Napoleonic  era  had  been  shamefully  betrayed 
on  the  German  side. 

In  the  very  nick  of  time,  Bismarck  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing Alexander  III.  of  the  spurious  character  of 
these  fabricated  documents,  and  in  furnishing  convinc- 
ing proof  of  the  forgery.  But  the  suspicious  mood  of 
Alexander  III.  towards  Germany  was  not  thereby  ma- 
terially changed.  Russia  energetically  prepared  for 
war,  and  concentrated  such  enormous  masses  of  troops 
along  the  German  and  Austrian  frontiers  that  it  was 
only  due  to  the  former  very  friendly  relations  with 
Russia,  and   to  the  correct    relations  obtaining  since 

xxi 


INTRODUCTORY 

1878,  that  the  German  government  refrained  from  put- 
ting Russia  squarely  before  an  ultimatum. 

In  February,  1888,  mutual  relations  had  become  de- 
cidedly more  strained.  The  Deutsche  Reichsanzeiger1 
had  published,  on  the  last  day  of  1887,  these  spurious 
documents,  and  had  spoken  in  very  good  temper  about 
the  "misunderstanding"  on  the  part  of  Russia.  The 
desired  effect  in  Russia,  however,  was  not  apparent. 
The  tone  of  the  Russian  and  French  papers  became 
increasingly  threatening.  On  February  3d,  the  en- 
tire political  world  was  shaken  by  the  publication  of 
the  German- Austrian  Alliance  stipulations.  True,  the 
wording  of  this  treaty  showed  conclusively  that  its 
purposes  were  wholly  defensive,  and  that  neither  Ger- 
many nor  Austria  intended  to  attack  another  coun- 
try. But  the  intriguers  in  France  and  Russia  made, 
nevertheless,  use  of  this  publication  to  begin  renewed 
press  assaults  against  Germany. 

In  the  German  Imperial  Parliament — the  Reichstag 
— they  were  debating  upon  the  increase  of  the  actual 
strength  of  the  German  army  to  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  and  upon  the  loan  made  necessary  by  such 
a  huge  enlargement  of  the  army.  On  February  6th, 
Bismarck  made  a  speech  in  the  Reichstag.  In  it  he 
admitted  that  the  pleasant  relations  with  Russia  had 
of  late  greatly  suffered.  But  he  still  continued  to  give 
Russia  an  opportunity  of  retrieving,  and  he  aimed  at 
presenting  things  in  such  a  light  as  if  there  was  but 
a  momentary  misunderstanding,  and  as  if  these  con- 
centrations of  Russian  troops  on  the  eastern  frontiers 
of  Germany  were  meant  for  something  else  than  war 
against  Germany. 

For  all  that,  Bismarck  on  this  occasion  made  the 
formal  declaration,   in  behalf  of  the  entire   German 

1  The  Deutsche  Reichsanzeiger  I  imperial  and  of  the  Prussian 
is  the  chief  official  organ  of  the  I  governments. — Ed. 

xxii 


INTRODUCTORY 

people,  that  the  latter  would  not  scruple  to  make 
war  against  two  enemies  in  defence  of  Germany's 
sacred  rights.  He  emphasized,  however,  that  Ger- 
many was  not  planning  a  war  of  aggression,  but  would 
prefer  to  have  her  foes  attack  her  first,  because  then 
"the  whole  of  Germany,  from  the  Memel  to  the  Lake 
of  Constance,  would  flare  up  like  a  powder  magazine, 
the  whole  country  thick  with  bayonets.  No  enemy 
will  dare  face  the  furor  teutonicus  which  would  develop 
in  case  of  aggression,"  the  Iron  Chancellor  said. 

The  concluding  words  of  this  unforgotten  speech 
reverberated  like  thunderclaps  throughout  the  Ger- 
man Empire:  "We  can  easily  be  won  by  affection 
and  good- will,  perhaps  too  easily,  but  never  by  threats. 
We  Germans  fear  God,  but  nothing  else  in  the  world." 

The  weight  of  these  words  was  increased  by  the  fact 
that  the  Reichstag  referred  the  army  increase  and  loan 
bills,  without  debate,  to  the  budget  committee,  and  later 
on  adopted,  on  a  second  reading,  the  army  bill  en  bloc. 

The  pacific  tone  of  Bismarck's  speech  created  an 
excellent  impression  throughout  the  world;  but  the 
energy  and  confidence  which  likewise  pervaded  it  in- 
duced the  ranters  in  France  and  Russia  to  curb  their 
passions  somewhat. 

Prince  William,  who  scarcely  imagined  at  that  time 
that  he  was  so  soon  to  become  emperor  and  the  leader 
of  Germany's  hosts,  felt  it,  nevertheless,  his  duty  to 
controvert,  two  days  after  Bismarck's  speech,  rumors 
which  had  taken  him  for  their  object.  Prince  William 
was  at  this  juncture  generally  believed  to  be  not  only 
an  enthusiastic  soldier,  but  also  to  be  a  hotspur.  It 
was  supposed  that  he  was  ready  to  risk  all  the  Ger- 
man Empire  had  won  during  the  preceding  decades  for 
a  "merry  war"  of  his  own.  On  February  8th,  there- 
fore, Prince  William  made  reply  to  some  remarks  by 
Oberprasident  von  Achenbach,  at  the  banquet  of  the 

xxiii 


INTRODUCTORY 

Provincial  Diet  of  the  province  of  Brandenburg,  in 
a  speech  whose  concluding  sentences  were  as  follows : 

" .  .  .  In  my  rides  through  the  Mark  Brandenburg, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  manoeuvres,  seeing  the  waving 
fields  and  the  manifold  evidences  of  industrial  prog- 
ress, I  have  convinced  myself  quite  sufficiently  where- 
in lies  the  true  foundation  of  a  people's  well-being  and 
of  fruitful  toil.  I  know  well  that  the  great  public, 
and  more  especially  in  foreign  countries,  imputes  to 
me  war  thoughts,  believes  me  eager  for  glory  and  for 
the  fray.  God  preserve  me  from  such  criminal  lean- 
ings! I  indignantly  deny  all  such  accusations!  But, 
gentlemen,  I  am  a  soldier,  and  all  Brandenburgers  are 
soldiers,  I  know.  ..." 

Four  weeks  later  Emperor  William  I.  died.  The 
moribund  Crown-prince,  Frederick  William,  ascended 
the  throne.  But  on  June  15th,  the  imperial  standard 
on  Castle  Friedrichskron,  near  Potsdam,  was  lowered 
once  more.  Kaiser  Friedrich  III.  was  dead ;  the  patient 
sufferer  had  breathed  his  last. 

When  Kaiser  Wilhelm  II.  had  ascended  the  throne 
of  the  Prussian  kings,  and  had  thereby  become  the 
chief  of  the  German  Empire,  he  issued  the  following 
three  addresses,  which  probably  more  or  less  accurately 
reflect  the  spirit  in  which  he  took  over  the  serious 
duties  that  devolved  on  him : 

"  To  my  People 

"God's  decree  has  again  visited  us  with  bitterest 
sorrow.  Hardly  had  the  grave  closed  over  the  mor- 
tal remains  of  my  unforgettable  grandfather,  than  my 
dearly  beloved  father's  majesty  has  been  summoned 
from  this  earth  to  eternal  peace.  The  heroic  energy 
growing  out  of  Christian  fortitude,  with  which  he  knew 

xxiv 


INTRODUCTORY 

how  to  fulfil  his  royal  duties  despite  his  sufferings, 
seemed  to  give  room  for  the  hope  that  he  would  be  pre- 
served to  the  fatherland  for  a  longer  time.  God  willed 
otherwise.  Only  a  few  months  were  given  to  the 
royal  sufferer,  whose  heart  beat  for  everything  great 
and  beautiful,  wherein  to  manifest  upon  the  throne 
all  those  noble  qualities  of  head  and  heart  which  en- 
deared him  to  the  people.  The  virtues  which  glorified 
him,  the  victories  which  he  once  won  on  the  battle-field, 
will  be  gratefully  remembered  as  long  as  German 
hearts  beat,  and  imperishable  renown  will  keep  alive 
his  knightly  figure  in  the  history  of  the  fatherland. 

"Summoned  to  the  throne  of  my  fathers,  I  have 
taken  up  the  reins  of  government  in  looking  for  aid 
to  the  King  of  all  kings,  and  I  have  sworn  to  God 
to  follow  the  example  of  my  fathers  and  to  be  to  my 
people  a  just  and  mild  ruler,  to  nurture  piety  and  the 
fear  of  God,  to  cherish  peace,  to  promote  the  country's 
welfare,  to  be  a  helper  to  the  poor  and  oppressed,  and 
a  faithful  guardian  to  justice. 

"  In  praying  God  to  give  me  strength  to  fulfil  these 
royal  duties,  imposed  upon  me  by  His  will,  I  find  sup- 
port in  the  consciousness  that  my  confidence  in  the 
Prussian  people,  as  its  history  reflects,  will  be  justified. 
In  good  and  evil  days  Prussia's  people  has  stood 
faithfully  by  its  king.  Upon  this  loyalty,  whose  ties 
proved  indissoluble  in  the  case  of  my  forefathers  in 
every  great  trouble  and  danger,  I  count  also,  knowing 
that  the  sentiment  is  reciprocated  by  me,  the  faithful 
ruler  of  a  faithful  people,  both  strong  in  devotion  to 
the  common  fatherland.  From  this  consciousness  of 
the  mutual  affection  binding  me  to  my  people,  I  gather 
the  confidence  that  God  will  lend  me  strength  and 
wisdom  to  fill  my  royal  office  to  the  welfare  of  the 
fatherland.  Wilhelm. 

"  Potsdam,  June  18,  1888." 

XXV 


INTRODUCTORY 


"  To  the  Army 


"Scarcely  has  the  army  discarded  the  external 
signs  of  mourning  for  Emperor  and  King  William  I., 
my  highly  cherished  grandfather,  who  will  continue  to 
live  in  your  hearts  forever,  than  another  heavy  blow 
falls  by  the  death  of  my  dear,  my  cherished  father,  the 
Emperor  and  King  Frederick  III.,  majesty. 

"Truly,  these  are  days  of  mourning  in  which  God's 
hand  places  me  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  it  is, 
indeed,  from  a  troubled,  deeply  stirred  heart  that  I 
address  my  first  words  to  my  army. 

"The  confidence,  however,  with  which  I  take  my 
stand  where  God's  will  places  me  is  unalterably  stead- 
fast, for  I  know  what  sentiments  of  honor  and  duty 
my  glorious  ancestors  have  implanted  in  the  army, 
and  I  know  in  what  great  measure  this  sentiment  has 
at  all  times  proved  trustworthy. 

"  In  the  army  the  strong,  unquestioning  allegiance 
to  the  commander-in-chief  (Kriegsherrn)1  is  the  heir- 
loom descending  from  father  to  son,  from  generation  to 
generation,  and  in  this  wise  I  point  you  to  my  grand- 
father, forever  before  your  eyes,  the  picture  of  a  glo- 
rious and  venerable  battle  leader,  such  as  no  finer 
and  more  heart-stirring  may  be  conceived ;  to  my  dear 
father,  who,  as  crown-prince,  won  a  high  place  of  honor 
in  the  annals  of  the  army;  and  to  a  long  line  of  re- 
nowned ancestors,  whose  names  shine  bright  in  his- 
tory and  whose  hearts  glowed  warm  for  the  army. 

"Thus  we  belong  together,  I  and  the  army;  thus 
we  are  born  for  each  other,  and  thus  we  will  act  to- 
gether, no  matter  whether  God  wills  peace  or  storm. 

"You  will  now  swear  to  me  the  oath  of  allegiance 


1  The  word  Kriegsherr  is  a  Ger- 
man military  title  signifying, 
not  "  war  lord,"  as  has  frequent- 

xxvi 


ly  been  erroneously  stated,  but 
means  simply  commander  -  in- 
chief. — Ed. 


INTRODUCTORY 

and  obedience,  and  I  solemnly  promise  always  to  re- 
member that  the  eyes  of  my  ancestors  are  looking 
down  upon  me  from  the  other  world,  and  that  I  shall 
have  to  render  account  some  day  of  the  glory  and  the 
honor  of  the  army.  Wilhelm. 

"  Castle  Friedrichskron,  June  15,  1888." 

"To  the  Navy 

"With  sorrow-laden  heart  I  inform  the  navy  that 
my  beloved  father,  his  Majesty  the  German  Emperor 
and  King  of  Prussia,  Frederick  III.,  died  peacefully 
in  the  Lord  this  forenoon  at  11.05  o'clock,  and  that 
I,  taking  the  place  appointed  for  me  by  God's  will, 
have  assumed  the  government  of  the  lands  devolving 
upon  me,  and  hence,  also,  the  chief  command  of  the 
navy. 

"It  is  in  very  truth  a  time  heavy  with  grief  when  I 
for  the  first  time  address  the  navy. 

"It  is  but  recently  that  you  discontinued  wearing 
the  sombre  signs  of  mourning  for  my  dear,  never-to-be- 
forgotten  grandfather,  the  Emperor  William  I.,  who 
but  last  year,  during  his  visit  to  Kiel,  expressed  his 
lively  satisfaction  and  admiration  at  the  development 
of  the  navy  during  his  glorious  reign,  and  to-day  the 
flags  sink  again  for  my  well-beloved  father,  who  felt 
so  much  joy  and  took  so  keen  an  interest  in  the  growth 
and  progress  of  the  navy. 

"The  time  of  stern  and  true  faithfulness  strengthens 
and  steadies,  however,  the  hearts  of  men,  and  thus 
we  will  look  confidently  into  the  future,  bearing  the 
pictures  of  my  grandfather  and  of  my  father  mirrored 
in  our  hearts.  The  navy  knows  that  it  has  not  only 
filled  me  with  great  joy  to  belong  to  it  by  an  external 
tie,  but  that  since  my  earliest  youth,  in  entire  con- 
sonance with  my  dear  brother,  Prince  Henry  of  Prus- 
sia, a  deep  and  lively  interest  draws  me  there. 

xxvii 


INTRODUCTORY 

"  I  have  learned  to  know  the  high  sense  of  honor  and 
of  duty  nobly  done  which  lives  in  the  navy.  I  know 
that  every  one  is  ready  to  sacrifice  his  life,  no  matter 
where,  for  the  honor  of  the  German  flag. 

"And  thus  it  is  that  in  this  sad  hour  I  may  say, 
with  full  confidence,  that  we  shall  stand  together,  fast 
and  true,  in  good  and  in  evil  days,  in  sunshine  and 
in  storm,  always  remembering  the  glory  of  the  Ger- 
man fatherland  and  always  ready  to  spill  our  heart's 
blood  for  the  honor  of  the  German  flag. 

"  In  such  an  endeavor  God's  blessing  will  be  with  us. 

WlLHELM. 
"  Castle  Friedrichskron,  June  15,  1888." 

The  young  Kaiser's  throne  speech  at  the  convening 
of  the  Reichstag,  June  25,  1888,  was  also  very  signif- 
icant.    In  it  occur  the  following  passages : 

"...  I  have  called  you  together,  honored  sirs,  to 
tell  the  German  nation  that  I  am  resolved  to  walk  the 
same  paths  as  king  and  as  emperor  on  which  my  dear 
grandfather  of  blessed  memory  won  for  himself  the 
confidence  of  his  federated  allies,  the  affection  of  the 
German  people,  and  the  good- will  of  foreign  nations. 
Whether  I  shall  similarly  succeed  rests  with  God,  but 
I  shall  strive  to  attain  all  this  by  hard  work." 

About  the  imperial  constitution  he  said: 

"...  The  foremost  one  of  these  laws  is  the  im- 
perial constitution.  To  protect  and  guarantee  it  in 
all  those  rights  which  it  confers  upon  the  two  legisla- 
tive bodies  of  the  nation  and  upon  every  German, 
but  also  those  which  it  confers  upon  the  Kaiser  and 
upon  each  allied  state  and  its  ruler,  belongs  to  the 
chief  prerogatives  and  duties  of  the  Kaiser. 

" .  .  .  In  like  manner  I  deem  it  requisite  to  main- 
xxviii 


INTRODUCTORY 

tain  our  state  and  social  development  in  the  paths  of 
legality,  and  firmly  to  oppose  all  endeavors  whose  pur- 
pose and  effect  would  be  to  undermine  the  order  and 
fabric  of  the  state. 

"  As  regards  our  foreign  policy,  I  am  resolved  to  keep 
peace  with  every  one,  so  far  as  in  me  lies.  My  affec- 
tion for  the  German  army  and  my  attitude  towards  it 
will  never  lead  me  into  the  temptation  to  shorten  the 
blessings  of  peace  for  our  country,  so  long  as  war 
should  not  be  forced  upon  us  by  an  attack  upon  the 
empire  or  its  allies.  Our  army  is  to  secure  us  peace, 
and,  if  peace  should  be  broken  despite  all,  our  army 
will,  I  trust,  be  strong  enough  to  compel  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  peace.  With  God's  help  it  will  be  able  to 
do  so,  now  that  its  effective  status  has  been  increased 
by  the  recently  passed  army  law,  adopted  by  you  in 
such  a  spirit  of  unanimity.  To  employ,  however,  this 
strength  in  wars  of  aggression  is  far  from  my  desires. 
Germany  is  not  in  need  of  either  new  warlike  laurels 
nor  of  new  conquests,  now  that  she  has  fought  for 
and  obtained  the  right  to  exist  as  a  united  and  inde- 
pendent nation.  .  .  . 

"For  the  conscientious  cultivation  of  peace  I  shall 
gladly  devote  my  services  to  the  fatherland,  as  likewise 
to  the  incessant  care  for  our  army,  and  I  rejoice  in  the 
traditional  relations  to  foreign  powers  by  which  my 
efforts  in  the  aforementioned  line  will  be  promoted. 

"  Trusting  in  God  and  in  the  preparedness  of  our 
people,  I  have  confidence  that  for  a  long  time  to  come 
we  shall  be  able  to  consolidate  and  to  preserve  by  the 
arts  of  peace  that  which,  under  the  leadership  of  my 
two  predecessors  on  the  throne,  now  resting  in  God, 
has  been  secured  in  war." 

Two  days  later,  on  June  27,  1888,  the  young  mon- 
arch delivered  another  speech  from  the  throne  at  the 

xxix 


INTRODUCTORY 

opening  of  the  Prussian  Diet.     The  same  spirit  per- 
vaded it. 

After  paying  a  glowing  tribute  to  his  grandfather  and 
father,  and  exacting  from  the  delegates  of  both  houses 
of  the  Diet  the  oath  of  allegiance,  the  Kaiser  said : 

"I  solemnly  pledge  myself  to  maintain  in  its  in- 
tegrity the  constitution  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  reign 
in  consonance  with  it  and  the  laws,  so  help  me  God ! 

"  Honored  Sirs!  Emperor  William  has  created  dur- 
ing his  glorious  reign,  full  of  great  deeds  in  war  and 
peace,  the  Prussia  of  to-day,  and  has  realized  the  striv- 
ings of  our  people  for  national  unity. 

"  My  father,  now  resting  in  God,  with  the  same  loy- 
alty which  inspires  me  towards  him,  adopted  after  his 
accession  in  his  public  manifestations,  representing  his 
political  testament,  the  policy  and  the  achievements 
of  my  grandfather  of  blessed  memory.  I  also  am  re- 
solved to  tread  the  same  paths  after  them,  both  as  re- 
gards Prussia  and  the  empire.  As  did  King  William 
I.,  so  will  I,  abiding  by  my  solemn  pledge,  honor  and 
protect  the  laws  and  the  prerogatives  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nation,  and  I  will  preserve  and  exert 
with  the  same  scrupulous  regard  the  constitutional 
rights  of  the  crown,  so  that  I  may,  at  some  future  time, 
hand  them  over  undiminished  to  my  successor  on  the 
throne.  Nothing  is  further  from  my  mind  than  to 
risk  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  the  continuity  of  our 
lawful  conditions  by  efforts  to  enlarge  the  rights  of 
the  crown.  That  measure  of  rights  and  prerogatives 
lawfully  accruing  to  me,  so  long  as  it  is  not  questioned, 
suffices  to  insure  for  the  life  of  the  state  that  degree  of 
monarchic  influence  which  Prussia,  from  her  historic 
development,  her  composition  to-day,  her  position  in 
the  empire,  and  the  sentiments  and  customs  of  her 
people,  actually  requires.     I  am  of  opinion  that  our 

XXX 


INTRODUCTORY 

constitution  contains  a  just  and  reasonable  apportion- 
ment of  the  different  factors  of  power  in  the  life  of  the 
state,  and  it  is  because  of  this,  and  not  only  because 
of  my  pledge,  that  I  mean  to  protect  and  maintain  it. 
Following  the  example  of  my  august  ancestors,  I  shall 
at  all  times  deem  it  my  duty  to  accord  to  every  form 
of  religious  belief  in  my  country  my  royal  protection 
in  the  exercise  of  its  tenets. 

"With  particular  satisfaction  I  have  noticed  that 
the  more  recent  religio-political  legislation  has  brought 
it  about  that  the  relations  between  the  state  and  the 
Catholic  Church  and  its  supreme  head  have  been  or- 
dered in  a  mutually  satisfying  manner.  I  shall  en- 
deavor to  preserve  Church  harmony  in  the  land. 

"Honored  Sirs!  I  have  assumed  the  duties  of  my 
royal  office  at  a  trying  period,  but  I  approach  the  task 
intrusted  to  me  by  God's  will  with  the  confidence  of  a 
sense  of  duty,  and  in  doing  so  the  word  of  the  Great 
Frederick  is  in  my  mind,  that  in  Prussia  "  the  king 
is  the  first  servant  of  the  state." 

During  the  short  reign  of  Emperor  Frederick,  France 
and  Russia  had  remained,  so  to  speak,  in  a  mood  of 
truce.  But  now,  after  the  accession  of  the  youthful 
ruler,  who,  according  to  their  notions,  had  no  serious 
backing  either  in  German  party  life  or  on  the  part 
of  the  ruling  sovereigns  of  the  empire,  the  time  seemed 
to  have  come  to  resume  once  more  the  covered  or  the 
open  attacks  upon  Germany.  It  was  now  incumbent 
upon  Emperor  William  II.  to  demonstrate  perad vent- 
ure to  the  whole  world  his  love  of  peace.  Besides, 
it  became  necessary  for  him  to  undertake,  wherever 
that  was  practicable,  personal  steps  to  remove  misun- 
derstandings and  to  further  the  preservation  of  peace. 

xxxi 


THE    KAISER    FOR    PEACE    AND 
RECONCILIATION 


THE  MAINTENANCE  OF  WORLD  PEACE 

The  Kaiser's  visits  to  Russia,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  under- 
taken, after  ascending  the  throne,  for  purposes  of  concilia- 
tion and  friendship— Emphatic  rejection  of  French  hints  to 
purchase  permanent  peace  by  restoring  Alsace-Lorraine — 
Significant  speeches  during  his  visit  to  England — Relations 
with  his  Austrian  and  Italian  allies — Toasting  the  Czar — The 
Kaiser  and  the  cession  of  Heligoland — Receiving  the  Austrian 
and  Italian  monarchs  in  Berlin — The  death  of  Alexander  III. 
— Peace  manifestations  at  the  opening  of  the  Baltic  Canal. 

The  impressive  demonstration  in  favor  of  peace 
which  the  Emperor  William  II.  inaugurated  immedi- 
ately after  his  accession,  by  means  of  a  series  of  trips 
to  foreign  parts,  was  emphasized  by  the  fact  that  his 
first  visit  was  paid  to  the  Czar  of  Russia.  He  did  not 
first  see  the  German  sovereigns,  nor  the  august  chiefs 
of  the  Dreibund  powers,  but  the  Kaiser  went,  above 
all,  to  the  most  dangerous  foe  of  GenrTany — to  Czar 
Alexander  III. — in  order  to  give  to  that  potentate  his 
personal  assurances  that  the  young  Kaiser  loved  peace 
above  everything. 

The  manner  of  his  carrying  out  this  important  task 
differed  in  several  essential  respects  from  similar  pre- 
vious visits  made  by  German  monarchs.  The  differ- 
ences in  external  circumstances  were  great.  The 
Kaiser  undertook  the  journey  by  sea.     On  July  14th, 

3 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

less  than  a  month  after  his  father's  death,  he  started 
from  Kiel  on  board  his  yacht,  the  Hohenzollern,  for 
St.  Petersburg,  accompanied  by  Prince  Henry,  his 
brother;  Prince  Herbert  Bismarck,  then  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs;  General  von  Hahnke,  then  chief  of 
his  military  cabinet,  and  a  large  and  brilliant  suite. 

On  the  19th  the  two  monarchs  met  on  the  high 
sea,  some  distance  from  Kronstadt,1  and  exchanged 
civilities.  Later  in  the  day  Kaiser  William  was  also 
received,  at  Peterhof,2  by  the  Empress  of  Russia. 
This  was  followed  by  a  family  dinner,  and  by  a  ban- 
quet given  officially  in  the  presence  of  the  high  dig- 
nitaries. The  Kaiser's  visit  lasted  until  July  24th, 
and  before  the  Kaiser's  departure  from  Kronstadt 
there  was  another  luncheon  on  board  the  Hohen- 
zollern, at  which  Alexander  III.  and  his  consort  par- 
ticipated. 

Alexander  III.  was  of  a  chivalrous  nature.  The 
manner  in  which  William  II.  seized  this  early  oppor- 
tunity to  plead  for  the  maintenance  of  peace  had 
impressed  the  Czar  vividly  and  had  created  great 
sympathy  for  this  young  monarch.  There  seems  no 
doubt  that  this  initial  step  made  by  William  II.  for 
the  sake  of  better  relations  between  the  two  nations 
was  of  eminent  importance,  and  that  it  was  largely 
instrumental  in  dissipating,  at  least  later  on,  the 
threatening  clouds  in  the  political  heavens.  The 
wording  of  the  toasts  proposed  by  both  rulers  on  the 
occasion  of  this  family  dinner,  on  July  19th,  has  never 
been  published.  The  Russian  press  by  no  means 
ceased  in  its  hostile  attacks  on  Germany,  although 
moderating  them  somewhat.  Russian  papers  at- 
tempted to  treat  the  Kaiser's  visit  ironically,  and  some 


1  Kronstadt,  the  harbor  of  St. 
Petersburg,  on  the  Baltic. 

2  Peterhof,  one  of  the  favorite 


residences  of  Alexander  III.,  in 
the  environs  of  St.  Petersburg. 
—Ed. 


THE   MAINTENANCE  OP  WORLD   PEACE 

of  their  interpretations  were  so  offensive  that  the 
Norddeutsche  Allgemeine  Zeitung1  replied  by  this  dec- 
laration : 

"True,  the  initiative  to  the  Kaiser's  visit  in  St.  Petersburg 
came,  we  repeat  it,  from  Berlin,  but  to  argue  therefrom  that 
the  need  of  a  rapprochement  between  the  two  countries  was 
felt  more  strongly  on  the  part  of  the  German  government 
than  was  the  case  in  St.  Petersburg  is  an  outflow  of  Asiatic 
arrogance  and  Asiatic  ignorance." 

The  Kaiser  at  least  felt  that  he  had  reason  to  be 
satisfied  with  the  results  of  his  visits  in  Krasnoye 
Sseloe2  and  Peterhof. 

On  his  return  trip  from  Kronstadt  the  Kaiser  visited 
the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway  in  Stockholm,  and 
won  by  his  personal  magnetism  not  alone  the  sym- 
pathies of  Oscar  II.  but  those  of  his  capital  as  well. 
On  July  26th,  the  Kaiser  thus  replied  at  the  royal 
castle  in  Stockholm  to  the  welcoming  words  of  the 
Swedish  ruler: 

"The  traditions  binding  the  Swedish  and  the  Ger- 
man people  together,  and  my  dynasty  with  the 
Swedish  royal  house,  and  more  especially  the  tradi- 
tions which  united  my  grandfather  and  my  father 
with  your  Majesty,  will,  I  trust,  live  on.  I  see  in  the 
splendid  reception  accorded  me  in  this  beautiful  land 
a  strong  proof  of  the  sympathies  uniting  the  Germanic 
with  the  Scandinavian  nations."3 

Indeed,  the  Kaiser  had  won  the  admiration  of  the 
Swedish  people.     If  war  should,  after  all,  break  out, 


1  Norddeutsche  Allgemeine  Zei- 
tung, a  Berlin  newspaper  largely 
used  by  the  German  government 
for  official  and  semi-official  ut- 
terances. 


2  Krasnoye  Sseloe,  a  rural  es- 
tate belonging  to  the  Czar. 

3  There  are  bonds  of  relation- 
ship between  the  Berlin  and  the 
Stockholm  courts. — Ed. 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

the  friendship — even  the  mere  neutrality — of  Sweden 
was  at  that  moment  of  great  importance. 

From  Stockholm  Kaiser  William  II.  went  straight 
into  the  lion's  den.  He  visited  Copenhagen.  The 
Danish  court  had  been,  since  1864,  the  centre  where 
all  sorts  of  intrigues  were  spun  against  Germany,  and 
whence  they  radiated.  Copenhagen  influences  had  in- 
duced the  Czar  (a  son-in-law  of  the  King  of  Denmark) 
to  identify  himself  with  the  Panslavist  movement,  and 
finally  to  reason  himself  into  a  bitter  state  of  feeling 
against  Germany.  The  amiable  and  frank  demeanor 
of  William  II.  conciliated,  too,  the  members  of  the 
Danish  royal  family.  The  reception  accorded  the 
Kaiser  in  Copenhagen  was  a  very  cordial  one.  At  the 
dinner  in  Castle  Amalienborg,  on  July  31st,  the  Kaiser 
answered  the  toast  proposed  by  King  Christian  IX. 
in  this  way: 

"  I  return  respectful  thanks  to  your  Majesty  for  the 
kind  toast,  and  I  express  the  hope  that  I  may  be 
permitted  in  the  future  to  pay  another  similarly 
friendly  visit  here." 

In  France,  it  seems,  this  love  of  peace,  as  evinced  by 
the  young  German  Emperor,  had  been  misunderstood. 
It  was  being  interpreted  there  as  a  confession  of  weak- 
ness— aye,  even  of  fear,  and  the  French  press  hastened 
to  inform  the  world  that  the  new  German  ruler  could 
easily  purchase  a  lasting  peace  by  voluntarily  return- 
ing to  France  the  two  lost  provinces  of  Alsace  and 
Lorraine.  These  French  interpretations  had  to  be 
effectually  combated  in  order  to  prevent  there,  as  well 
as  elsewhere,  misconstructions  of  the  motives  impelling 
William  II.  in  his  further  attempts  to  preserve  the 
peace  in  Europe. 

In  Frankfort-on-Oder,  the  16th  of  August  was  kept 

6 


THE   MAINTENANCE   OF  WORLD   PEACE 

as  a  memorial  day  of  the  battle  of  Mars-la-Tour,  and 
a  monument  to  Prince  Frederick  Charles  (''the  Red 
Prince"),  which  had  been  erected  by  the  3d  Army 
Corps,  was  unveiled  on  that  day.  The  Kaiser  was 
present  and  made  a  memorial  speech,  towards  the 
close  of  which  he  said: 

"There  are  some  who  do  not  scruple  to  assert  that 
if  my  father  had  lived  he  would  have  restored  that 
which  he  and  my  uncle,  of  blessed  memory,  Prince 
Frederick  Charles,  had  won  by  the  sword.  We  all 
have  known  him  too  well  to  acquiesce  supinely  in 
an  assertion  which  amounts  to  an  affront  offered  his 
memory.  He  had  the  same  conviction  we  have- 
namely,  that  not  an  iota  of  the  achievements  of  that 
great  period  is  to  be  relinquished.  I  believe  that  not 
only  the  3d  Army  Corps,  but  the  entire  army,  knows 
there  can  be  but  one  voice  on  that  score,  and  that 
we  should  prefer  rather  to  leave  our  eighteen  army 
corps  and  our  forty  -  two  millions  of  people  on  the 
battle  -  field  than  to  cede  a  single  stone  of  that 
which  my  father  and  Prince  Frederick  Charles  have 
won  for  us." 

To  nurture  the  good  relations  with  Sweden,  the 
Kaiser  seized  upon  the  opportunity  furnished  by  the 
birth  of  his  fifth  son  to  ask  the  King  of  Sweden  to 
become  godfather  to  the  new-born  prince.  On  August 
31st,  the  baptismal  rites  were  celebrated  in  Berlin,  the 
King  of  Sweden  being  present,  and  both  the  German 
and  the  Swedish  press  expressed  satisfaction  at  this 
new  proof  of  the  pleasant  relations  existing  between 
the  two  countries. 

After  the  Kaiser  had  paid  a  visit  in  Dresden  to  King 
Albert,  whose  very  friendly  feelings  for  him  he  wished 
to  cultivate,  he  made  a  tour  of  visits  to  Stuttgart, 

7 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

Munich,  Vienna,  and  Rome.  More  especially  his  visits 
to  the  Vienna  court  and  to  the  Quirinal  served  their 
turn  well  to  demonstrate  to  the  world  the  Kaiser's 
love  of  peace,  but  they  had  another  and  very  appre- 
ciable effect  in  enthusing  the  nations  belonging  to  the 
Triple  Alliance. 

With  great  satisfaction,  the  Kaiser  was  able  to 
declare,  at  the  conclusion  of  these  journeys,  that  ac- 
cording to  his  sincere  conviction  the  continuance  of 
peace  had  been  secured  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
Notwithstanding  this,  however,  the  political  situation 
did  not  entirely  improve  during  1889.  Doubtless, 
though,  the  efforts  of  the  German  Emperor  had  at 
least  induced  his  adversaries  to  assume  a  waiting  at- 
titude and  not  to  hurry  on  the  moment  of  actual  hostili- 
ties by  violent  means.  The  Czar  of  Russia  had  been 
seriously  disturbed  by  the  publication  of  the  terms  of 
the  German  -  Austrian  agreement,  and  had  somehow 
conceived  the  idea  that  the  point  of  this  treaty  was 
turned  against  Russia.  His  designs  upon  the  Balkan 
peninsula,  where  he  wished  to  consolidate  Russian 
supremacy,  were  gravely  interfered  with  by  this  al- 
liance. It  could,  of  course,  be  foreseen  that  Austria- 
Hungary,  because  of  the  dangers  inherent  in  the 
proximity  of  so  powerful  a  neighbor,  would  not  tolerate 
a  further  extension  of  Russian  influence  upon  the 
Balkan  lands.  And  now  Austria-Hungary  no  longer 
stood  alone.  At  the  critical  moment  she  knew  that 
she  could  rely  upon  Germany. 

The  German  Emperor  continued  his  endeavors  in 
behalf  of  peace,  and  in  pursuance  of  that  object  he  next 
undertook  a  trip  to  England.  Britons  at  that  time 
were  prejudiced  in  his  favor  as  being  the  grandson  of 
their  beloved  Queen.  But  he  did  not  visit  her  solely 
as  a  relative.  That  fact  was  made  patent  by  the 
manner  in  which  the  journey  was  carried  out.     He 

8 


THE   MAINTENANCE  OF  WORLD   PEACE 

was  accompanied  by  a  German  squadron  of  naval 
vessels.  The  excellent  relations  between  the  two 
courts  found  expression  in  mutual  courtesies.  Kaiser 
William  was  made  an  honorary  admiral  of  the  British 
navy.  He,  on  his  part,  created  Queen  Victoria  honor- 
ary chief  of  the  ist  Dragoons  of  the  Guards,  and  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge  he  appointed  chief  of  the  28th 
Regiment  of  the  Line.  The  Kaiser  stayed  in  Eng- 
land from  the  ist  until  the  7th  of  August.  All  the 
honors  which  he  showered  upon  his  grandmother,  the 
Queen,  were  looked  upon  by  the  English  people  as 
special  attentions  shown  to  the  whole  country.  In 
England,  too,  it  made  a  very  good  impression  that 
the  Kaiser  had  at  once  transmitted  an  order  to  Berlin 
to  send  a  deputation  of  the  ist  Dragoons  of  the  Guards 
to  England  in  order  to  wait  upon  their  new  royal 
chief.  The  presentation  ceremony  took  place  in  Os- 
borne, on  August  5th,  and  the  Kaiser  said  on  this  oc- 
casion : 

"  I  beg  to  be  permitted  to  express  to  your  Majesty 
my  deep-felt  thanks  at  the  fact  that  your  Majesty  has 
been  gracious  enough  to  accept  the  position  as  chief 
of  the  Royal  Prussian  ist  Dragoons  of  the  Guards. 
My  army  feels  proud  to  be  able  to  count  henceforth 
in  its  ranks  the  sovereign  commander  of  the  greatest 
naval  power  in  the  world.  Above  all,  however,  the 
hearts  of  the  officers  and  men  of  your  Majesty's  own 
regiment  beat  higher  because  of  the  fact  that  it  now 
enjoys  the  honor  of  being  called  'Queen  of  England.' 
I  have  chosen  this  particular  regiment  for  the  purpose 
partly  for  the  reason  that  its  record  shows  it  to  have 
excelled  in  discipline  during  times  of  peace  and  in 
heroic  conduct  during  war.  Notably  was  this  the 
case  during  the  last  campaign,  at  Mars-la-Tour,  where 
it  earned  deserved  laurels.     But  again  it  is  the  only 

9 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

cavalry  regiment  in  the  Prussian  army  in  which  my 
late  father  received  his  education  as  a  cavalryman. 

"I  do  not  doubt  for  a  moment  that  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  ist  Dragoons  of  the  Guards,  Queen 
of  England,  conscious  of  the  high  distinction  con- 
ferred, will  zealously  strive  always  to  remain  worthy 
of  it." 

On  the  same  day  the  Kaiser  assisted  at  a  regatta  held 
in  Sundown  Bay,  and  to  the  toast  proposed  in  his 
honor  by  the  Prince  of  Wales  he  replied: 

"The  great  honor  which  the  Queen  has  conferred 
upon  me  by  appointing  me  admiral  of  the  English 
fleet  I  value  very  highly.  It  gave  me  great  pleasure 
to  witness  this  naval  review  and  to  be  able  to  see  and 
examine  closely  a  navy  which  I  hold  the  finest  in  the 
world.  Germany  possesses  an  army  which  appears 
adequate  for  her  needs,  and  when  the  British  nation 
owns  a  fleet  commensurate  to  their  requirements 
Europe  in  general  will  look  upon  this  fact  as  a  most 
potent  factor  in  the  preservation  of  peace." 

On  the  day  before  his  departure  the  Kaiser  witnessed, 
at  Aldershot,  the  manoeuvres  of  twenty-nine  thousand 
British  troops.  At  the  luncheon  in  camp  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge  toasted  the  Kaiser,  whereupon  the  latter 
said  in  reply : 

"  It  was  peculiarly  gratifying  to  me  to  appoint  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge,  in  his  capacity  of  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  English  army,  chief  of  my  28th  Regiment 
of  the  Line,  because  it  was  this  regiment  which  had, 
in  past  years,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  our  good  com- 
rade at  Waterloo,  for  its  chief. 

"My  grandfather  had   maintained   friendship  with 

10 


THE   MAINTENANCE  OF   WORLD   PEACE 

England  and  the  English,  a  friendship  baptized  in 
blood,  until  the  end  of  his  days. 

"...  The  British  troops  have  inspired  me  with 
the  greatest  admiration.  If  ever  the  possibility  of 
volunteer  service  should  be  doubted,  I  shall  be  in  a 
condition  to  testify  as  to  their  excellence. 

"At  Malplaquet  and  Waterloo,  Prussian  and  British 
blood  has  been  spilled  in  a  common  cause.  ..." 

And  not  only  at  the  British  royal  court  had  the 
Kaiser  won  sympathy  for  himself,  but  also  among  the 
British  people,  not  easily  swayed  in  their  sentiments. 
His  personal  appearance  and  demeanor  had  gained 
him  the  good- will  of  the  English. 

Shortly  after  his  return  to  his  capital,  the  Kaiser 
received  the  visit  of  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph  of 
Austria,  who  was  accorded  a  jubilant  reception  by 
the  population  of  Berlin.  The  Kaiser  utilized  the 
presence  of  his  august  ally  to  emphasize  again  the 
peaceable  purposes  of  the  Triple  Alliance  and  the 
intimate  relations  subsisting  between  Germany  and 
Austria.  On  August  13,  1889,  at  the  banquet  which 
was  given  immediately  after  the.  brilliant  pageant 
of  a  gigantic  military  parade,  held  in  honor  of  his 
guest,  the  Kaiser  proposed  a  toast  concluding  as  fol- 
lows : 

"...  My  people  and  my  army  keep  steadfast  and 
true  to  the  federated  compact  concluded  between  us, 
and  the  army  is  fully  conscious  of  the  fact  that  to 
preserve  the  peace  and  its  blessings  for  our  countries 
it  must  maintain  it  and  would  fight,  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  with  the  brave  Austro- Hungarian  army,  if 
that  should  be  the  will  of  Providence." 

The  Czar  of  Russia  returned  the  Kaiser's  visit  in  the 

11 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

autumn,  remaining  in  Berlin  from  October  i  ith  to  13th. 
The  Kaiser  did  everything  in  his  power  to  render  this 
brief  sojourn  as  agreeable  as  possible  to  his  guest,  and 
to  assure  him  of  his  peaceful  intentions  and  of  his 
earnest  wish  to  preserve  friendly  relations  with  Russia. 
At  the  banquet  given  in  the  White  Hall  of  the  old 
castle  in  Berlin,  the  Kaiser,  on  October  nth,  proposed 
a  short  but  pregnant  toast,  saying : 

"  I  drink  to  the  health  of  my  esteemed  friend,  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  to  the  continu- 
ance of  that  friendship  which  has  existed  between  our 
houses  for  more  than  a  century,  and  which  I  am  re- 
solved to  cultivate  as  an  heirloom  descended  to  me 
from  my  ancestors." 

The  Kaiser  had  spoken  in  German,  of  which  the 
Czar  possessed  a  perfect  mastery,  but  the  latter  pre- 
ferred to  reply — to  the  amazement  of  everybody,  and 
contrary  to  his  former  custom — in  French,  as  follows : 
"  I  thank  your  Majesty  for  your  kind  words,  and  I 
entirely  share  the  sentiments  which  you  have  just 
expressed.  To  the  health  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor 
and  King.     Hurrah!" 

Nevertheless,  the  Kaiser  continued  his  friendly  ad- 
vances, and  two  days  later,  when  a  luncheon  in  honor 
of  the  Czar  was  given  at  the  officers'  mess  of  the  Czar 
Alexander  Grenadiers  of  the  Guards,  the  Kaiser  said, 
relative  to  the  Russian  army : 

"  On  an  occasion  like  the  present  one,  which  touches 
a  regiment  looking  back  upon  a  long  and  glorious 
history  of  its  own,  and  which  has  also  the  honor  to  see 
here  as  its  guest  its  imperial  chief,  memories  of  bygone 
days  may  well  play  a  large  role.     We  are  carried  back 

12 


THE   MAINTENANCE   OF  WORLD    PEACE 

to  the  days  when  my  grandfather,  now  resting  in  God, 
but  then  a  young  officer,  received  before  the  enemy,  on 
the  battle-field,  the  Order  of  St.  George,  and  won  in  the 
rain  of  bullets  the  chieftaincy  of  the  Kaluga  Regiment.1 

"  I  remind  you  of  these  facts  in  order  to  drink  to  the 
glorious  and  joint  reminiscences  and  traditions  of  the 
Russian  and  of  the  Prussian  armies.  I  drink  to  those 
who  in  patriotic  and  heroic  defence  of  their  country 
fought  at  Borodino,  who  with  us  bled  at  the  victorious 
battles  of  Arcis-sur-Aube  and  Brienne.  I  drink  to 
the  brave  defenders  of  Sebastopol  and  the  dauntless 
fighters  of  Plevna. 

"  I  will  ask  you,  gentlemen,  to  rise  and  empty  your 
glasses  to  the  health  of  our  comrades  of  the  Russian 
army." 

On  this  occasion  the  Czar  replied  in  German,  briefly 
saying:  "  I  drink  to  the  health  of  my  brave  Grenadier 
Regiment.     Hurrah!     Hurrah!     Hurrah!" 

On  October  18th  the  Kaiser  and  his  consort  started 
on  an  extensive  journey  to  the  Orient.  In  the  first 
place,  this  came  about  because  of  the  wedding  fes- 
tivities at  Athens  attendant  upon  the  marriage  of  the 
Kaiser's  youngest  sister,  Sophia,  with  the  Crown-prince 
Constantine  of  Greece.  On  October  31st  the  imperial 
couple  left  Athens  for  Constantinople,  arriving  there 
on  November  2d.  The  Sultan  accorded  the  German 
monarch  a  very  brilliant  and  cordial  reception,  and  it 
soon  became  evident  by  the  tone  of  the  intercourse 
between  the  two  rulers  that  the  young  Kaiser  had  won 
the  friendship  of  the  Padishah,  and  thus  had  scored  a 
moral  conquest  of  some  moment  to  Germany's  wel- 
fare and  growing  influence  in  the  Orient. 


1  At  Brienne,  1814,  against 
the  French,  both  distinctions 
being  conferred  upon  seventeen- 

13 


year -old  William  I.  by  Czar 
Alexander  I.,  the  ally  of  Prussia. 
—Ed. 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

The  year  1889  closed  with  brighter  prospects  than 
had  the  previous  year,  and  the  Kaiser  said: 

"  I  still  believe  that  with  God's  help  I  have  succeeded 
in  prolonging  peace  for  long  years  to  come." 

The  Czar  of  Russia,  in  his  turn,  manifested  peace- 
able intentions  when  he  wrote,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1890,  in  the  Russian  official  Government  Mes- 
senger, in  a  letter  to  the  governor-general  of  Moscow: 
"  Entering  upon  a  new  year,  I  pray  God  He  may  con- 
tinue uninterruptedly  the  development  of  the  internal 
resources  of  our  beloved  country,  in  the  midst  of  that 
peace  which  we  all  desire  and  which  blesses  us  all." 

Everywhere  in  Europe  the  conviction  gained  ground 
that  William  II.,  whom  the  world  had  regarded  before 
his  accession  as  bellicose  and  reckless,  was  a  sincere 
friend  of  peace.  This  trend  of  public  opinion  was 
aided  by  the  Kaiser  himself,  who  seldom  allowed  an 
opportunity  to  escape  him  for  emphasizing  again  and 
again  his  pacific  intentions.  Illustrative  of  this  was 
the  toast  which  the  Kaiser  proposed  at  the  banquet 
taking  place  on  August  10th  of  that  year  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  formal  cession  by  Great  Britain  to  Ger- 
many of  the  small  but  important  island  of  Heligoland, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe  River.  The  Kaiser  then 
said: 

"  This  beautiful  island  has  come  into  my  possession 
without  strife,  without  the  shedding  of  a  single  tear. 
The  many  despatches  from  the  mother-country  which 
have  come  into  my  hands  to-day  plainly  evince  the 
liveliest  sympathies  for  this  new  acquisition.  And 
I  make  a  special  point  of  referring  to  the  manner  in 
which  Heligoland  has  been  regained.  I  am  proud  of 
the  fact  that  it  has  been  done  without  a  struggle.     The 

14 


THE   MAINTENANCE  OF  WORLD   PEACE 

last  time  I  was  here,  in  1873,  I  said  to  myself  that  I 
would  be  happy  if  I  should  live  to  see  the  island  Ger- 
man once  more. 

"And  now  we  have  acquired  the  island  by  right  of 
treaty,  out1  of  the  free  will  of  the  government  and  of 
the  legislative  branches  of  a  consanguineous  country. 
My  heart  rejoices,  therefore,  in  raising  my  glass  to 
that  august  lady  whom  we  have  to  thank  for  the  fact 
that  the  island  has  again  become  German.  With  far- 
sighted  wisdom,  with  an  eye  that  penetrates  the  fut- 
ure, the  Queen  rules  her  land,  and  she  attaches  value 
to  living  in  friendship  with  me  and  with  my  people. 
She  appreciates  German  military  men,  German  melo- 
dies. 

"  May  the  Queen  of  England  live  long  and  prosper!" 

On  August  17,  1890,  the  Emperor  William  II.  paid 
his  second  visit  to  the  Czar  of  Russia.  Again  he  made 
the  journey  by  sea,  and  this  time  he  arrived  on  Rus- 
sian soil  in  Reval,  thence  proceeding  to  Narva.  The 
presence  of  cabinet  officers  and  ambassadors  on  this 
occasion,  lasting  until  August  23d,  proved  its  impor- 
tance. But  even  in  Germany  there  were  press  voices 
which  declared  this  second  visit  of  the  Kaiser  to 
Russia  superfluous,  and  which  asserted  that  the  Kai- 
ser did  not  find  in  Russia  that  amount  of  welcome 
which  his  amiable  spirit  seemed  to  deserve.  There  was 
published,  on  the  German  side,  a  semi-official  protest 
against  this  statement.  Subsequent  events  gave  proof 
that  this  second  visit,  too,  had  promoted  neighborly 
relations  as  well  as  a  better  personal  understanding 
between  the  two  monarchs. 

On  October  1,  1890,  Kaiser  William  again  visited  his 
ally,  the  Emperor  and  King  Francis  Joseph.  Although 
the  sojourn  in  Vienna  was  brief,  the  reception  which 
the  populace  of  the  Austrian  capital  accorded  the  Ger- 

15 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

man  Kaiser  was,  judging  by  the  unanimous  verdict  of 
the  Vienna  press,  a  triumphal  one. 

On  July  ist  of  the  same  year  the  Kaiser  paid  a 
friendly  visit  to  the  Queen  of  the  Netherlands.  Even 
with  the  calm  Hollanders,  so  difficult  to  inspire  with 
enthusiasm,  the  Kaiser  won  for  himself,  solely  owing 
to  his  personal  demeanor,  general  sympathy  in  the 
shortest  space  of  time.  In  his  toast  at  the  state  ban- 
quet given  him  he  said,  among  other  things : 

"  I  esteem  it  a  high  favor  to  be  able  to  make  a  brief 
stay  in  the  Netherlands,  and  especially  in  Amsterdam, 
since  the  House  of  Orange  and  mine  are  closely  re- 
lated, and  since  Germany  owes  vast  gratitude  to  the 
original  House  of  Orange  and  Nassau." 

Then  adding  in  the  Dutch  vernacular,  amid  great 
enthusiasm : 

"  Ik  drink  op  de  gezondheid  van  Hare  Majestaten  de 
Koningin  en  de  Koningin-Regentes !" 

From  that  time  on  the  press  of  the  Netherlands,  as 
had  the  leading  journals  in  other  countries,  began 
sedulously  to  discuss  the  person  of  Kaiser  William,  and 
to  express  in  well-meaning  words  the  opinion  that  his 
aims  and  policy  were  directed  towards  the  mainte- 
nance of  universal  peace. 

On  October  27,  1891,  King  Charles  of  Roumania 
arrived  in  Berlin  on  a  visit  to  the  Kaiser,  and  the 
cordial  words  with  which  William  II.  welcomed  his 
guest  contained  many  pleasant  references,  and  were 
calculated  to  knit  more  closely  the  amicable  bonds 
uniting  the  two  rulers  and  their  countries. 

However,  in  July,  1891,  a  political  event  of  the  first 
magnitude  had  come  to  pass,  an  event  which  on  the 

16 


THE   MAINTENANCE   OF   WORLD    PEACE 

part  of  France  had  been  diligently  striven  for  and 
which  in  Germany  had  been  expected  for  years  with 
more  or  less  anxiety.  The  close  rapprochement  of 
France  and  Russia  had  become  an  established  fact. 
On  July  23d  a  French  naval  squadron  had  arrived  in 
Kronstadt,  and  the  honors  and  attentions  showered 
by  the  Russians  upon  both  officers  and  men  incited  in 
France  the  liveliest  gratification.  The  Czar,  in  his 
toast  on  the  28th,  dwelt  with  emphasis  on  the  close  and 
friendly  ties  subsisting  between  France  and  Russia. 
France  had  made  great  sacrifices,  in  the  shape  of  a 
Russian  loan,  to  bring  about  this  friendship  and  its 
open  acknowledgment,  and  under  given  circumstances 
it  is  likely  that  this  new  aspect  of  political  affairs 
might  have  seriously  shaken  the  hopes  entertained 
throughout  Europe  by  the  advocates  of  peace.  It 
was  partly  due  to  Kaiser  William's  efforts  that  the 
point,  so  to  speak,  of  this  French  success  was  broken 
off  in  advance.  And  the  French  soon  enough  came 
to  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  Czar  was  by  no  means 
willing  to  have  his  troops  march  against  Germany  in 
order  to  help  France  regain  Alsace-Lorraine. 

The  year  1892,  May  30th  till  June  2d,  saw  the 
Queen-Regent  and  the  Queen  of  the  Netherlands  on  a 
visit  to  the  imperial  couple  in  Potsdam.  At  the  dinner 
on  May  31st  the  Kaiser  in  his  toast  again  paid  a  high- 
ly flattering  tribute  to  the  Dutch  people  and  their  rul- 
ing dynasty  of  Orange,  laying  particular  stress  on  the 
Orange  blood  in  his  own  veins  and  on  the  high  esteem 
in  which  he  held  the  heroes  of  that  line,  and  skilful- 
ly allaying,  by  the  turn  of  his  phrases,  any  lingering 
suspicions  of  ulterior  motives  on  his  own  part,  praising 
the  people  of  the  Netherlands  for  their  unalterable 
loyalty  to  their  ancient  dynasty. 

On  June  7,  1892,  the  Czar  of  Russia,  accompanied  by 
the  heir-presumptive,  passed  through  Kiel,  and  was 
2  17 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

there  received  by  the  Kaiser.  The  first  meeting  was  on 
board  the  Kaiser's  yacht,  the  Hohenzollem,  and  at  the 
dinner,  which  was  served  at  the  royal  chateau  in  Kiel, 
the  Kaiser  toasted  his  guest  as  follows: 

"  I  drink  to  the  health  of  the  Russian  Emperor,  who 
henceforth  will  be,  as  admiral  a  la  suite  of  my  navy, 
with  his  expressed  consent,  carried  in  my  lists  in  that 
capacity.     Long  live  the  Czar!" 

Taking  account  of  his  French  friends,  the  Czar  an- 
swered in  French:  "I  am  much  pleased  with  this  dis- 
tinction, and  with  the  reception  accorded  me,  and  I 
drink  to  the  welfare  of  my  dear  friend  and  cousin. 
Long  life  to  the  German  Kaiser  and  to  the  German 
navy!" 

The  same  evening  Alexander  III.  left  the  harbor  of 
Kiel  in  order  to  proceed  to  Copenhagen.  The  Rus- 
sian press  admitted  the  importance  of  this  entrevue, 
declaring  it  to  be  another  "  pillar  "  for  the  continuance 
of  the  peace  of  the  world,  a  blessing  which  benefited 
all.   One  of  the  leading  Russian  journals  added : 

"Passions  will  subside.  Everybody  is  weary  of  nervous- 
ness in  foreign  politics.  It  is  time  for  every  country  to  oc- 
cupy itself  with  its  own  internal  development." 

A  peace  demonstration  on  a  gigantic  scale  is  what 
the  visit  amounted  to  which  King  Humbert  and  Queen 
Margherita  of  Italy  paid  to  the  German  Kaiser  from 
June  20th  to  24th.  After  a  parade  in  the  Lustgarten, 
in  Potsdam,  on  June  21st,  the  Kaiser  made  a  short, 
felicitous  speech  of  welcome,  avoiding,  however,  politi- 
cal allusions. 

On  June  23d,  two  days  later,  the  Italian  royal  cou- 
ple were  within  the  walls  of  Berlin,  and  the  reception 

18 


THE   MAINTENANCE   OF  WORLD   PEACE 

accorded  them  by  the  entire  populace  was  enthusi- 
astic. 

The  year  1893  brought  no  surprises  and  no  new  polit- 
ical groupings  in  Europe.  The  conviction  had,  how- 
ever, by  this  time  taken  firm  root  that  Germany  and 
her  Kaiser  would  never  begin  war  of  their  own  volition. 
That  which  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign  would  have 
been  deemed  improbable,  if  not  impossible,  had  now 
actually  come  to  pass.  William  II.  began  to  be  con- 
sidered by  many  not  alone  as  the  preserver  of  peace 
so  far  as  Germany  was  concerned,  but  as  the  con- 
sistent and  able  champion  of  the  peace  of  the  world. 

In  January,  1893,  the  marriage  of  Princess  Margaret, 
sister  of  the  Kaiser,  and  Prince  Frederick  Charles  of 
Hesse,  was  solemnized  in  Berlin.  Among  the  guests 
present  on  this  occasion  was  the  Russian  Grand-duke 
Nicholas,  now  the  reigning  Czar,  who  subsequently 
married  the  bridegroom's  sister,  Princess  Alix  of  Hesse. 
The  Kaiser  accompanied  the  Grand-duke  to  the  lunch- 
eon given  in  his  honor  by  the  Czar  Alexander  Gren- 
adier Guards,  and  there  proposed  the  following  toast, 
couched  in  highly  conciliatory  terms : 

"  With  the  permission  of  your  Imperial  Highness,  I, 
as  the  eldest  comrade  in  the  regiment,  will  empty  my 
first  glass  to  the  health  of  his  Majesty,  the  father  of 
your  Imperial  Highness. 

"  All  of  us  in  this  regiment  still  remember  the  gracious 
words  with  which  his  Majesty  the  Czar  made  his  regi- 
ment happy  at  his  visit  in  1889.  The  many  evidences 
of  interest  and  the  lively  satisfaction  shown  in  so  many 
ways  by  his  Majesty  to  his  regiment,  but  also  the  friend- 
ly sympathy  evinced  on  festive  occasions  in  my  house, 
and  culminating  in  the  mission  now  intrusted  to  your 
Imperial  Highness,  prompt  me  to  express  my  warmest 
thanks.     We  all  of  us  see  in  your  imperial  father  not 

19 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

only  the  august  chief  of  this  regiment,  not  only  our 
most  renowned  comrade,  but,  above  all,  the  bearer  of 
approved  monarchic  institutions,  and  of  a  tested  friend- 
ship and  ties  of  intimate  relationship  with  my  dis- 
tinguished predecessors,  whose  fruition  was  sealed,  in 
by-gone  days,  by  Russian  as  well  as  Prussian  regiments 
in  battles  fought  for  a  common  cause.  ..." 

In  furtherance  of  the  cordial  relations  existing  be- 
tween Emperor  William  and  his  allies,  the  German  im- 
perial couple  undertook,  on  April  17th,  a  journey  to 
Rome,  to  participate  there  in  the  celebration  of  the 
silver  wedding  of  the  King  and  Queen  of  Italy.  On 
April  2 2d  a  grand  banquet  took  place  at  the  Quirinal, 
and  the  Kaiser  replied  to  a  welcoming  speech  by  King 
Humbert  in  a  manner  to  bring  out  clearly  the  close 
political  bonds  uniting  the  two  countries.  The  most 
characteristic  passage  of  his  reply  was  to  this  effect : 

"  Hand  in  hand  with  this  personal  friendship  [be- 
tween the  two  monarchs  and  dynasties. — Ed.]  goes  the 
warm  sympathy  uniting  the  German  and  Italian  na- 
tions, and  which  lately  has  found  renewed  and  forcible 
expression.  ..." 

On  the  return  trip  from  Rome  the  Kaiser  took,  on 
May  2d,  a  brief  sojourn  in  Lucerne.  After  a  circular 
tour  of  the  Lake  of  Lucerne,  the  imperial  couple  were 
welcomed  by  the  President  of  the  Swiss  Republic, 
Schenk.  At  the  subsequent  banquet  the  Kaiser  re- 
plied to  President  Schenk' s  address — in  which  he  had 
been  congratulated  on  his  unceasing  efforts  to  further 
the  cause  of  peace — in  a  brief  speech,  the  concluding 
paragraphs  of  which  said  : 

"  It  is  with  satisfaction  that  I  confirm  the  statement 

20 


THE   MAINTENANCE  OF  WORLD   PEACE 

that  our  good  and  neighborly  relations,  existing  for 
ages,  continue  unabated.  I  indulge  the  hope  that  traf- 
fic and  commerce  between  Switzerland  and  Germany, 
as  provided  by  treaties,  will  develop  in  a  mutually  sat- 
isfactory manner,  and  that  this  will  contribute  towards 
consolidating  and  increasing  the  friendship  existing  be- 
tween the  two  nations.  ..." 

This  visit  had  much  to  do  with  the  palpable  fact  that 
from  that  time  on  the  tone  of  the  Swiss  press  became 
much  more  cordial  towards  Germany.  The  implied 
pledge  of  respecting  the  independence  of  the  Swiss 
people,  and  the  distinct  acknowledgment  of  its  polit- 
ical autonomy,  both  contained  in  the  Kaiser's  remarks, 
soothed  Swiss  susceptibilities. 

The  Italian  Crown-prince,  Victor  Emmanuel,  was  pres- 
ent at  the  big  German  manoeuvres  along  the  Rhine  and 
in  Alsace- Lorraine,  in  order  to  testify  before  the  world  to 
the  intimate  bonds  uniting  the  two  countries.  Several 
times,  in  Coblentz  and  in  Metz,  the  Kaiser  took  occasion 
to  dwell  publicly  on  the  closeness  of  these  relations. 

On  October  31st  of  the  same  year  a  Russian  squad- 
ron arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Toulon,  thus  returning 
the  visit  of  the  French  squadron  to  Kronstadt.  Very 
cordial  despatches  were  exchanged  between  President 
Carnot  and  Czar  Alexander  III. 

The  year  1894  brought  about  an  event  which  did 
much  to  improve  the  slightly  strained  relations  between 
Germany  and  Russia.  On  March  16th  the  German  Par- 
liament approved  the  commercial  treaty  with  Russia, 
and  for  years  thereafter  the  commercial  affiliations  be- 
tween the  two  nations  became  much  more  intimate 
and  mutually  profitable,  and  the  tone  of  the  press,  too, 
changed  much  for  the  better  on  both  sides.1 

1  It  is  well  known  that  the  I  necessity  of  improving  and  re- 
Kaiser     recognized     the     urgent  I  adjusting  commercial  and  politi- 

21 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

On  April  7  th  the  Kaiser  had  a  meeting  with  the  King 
of  Italy  at  Venice.  On  August  5th  William  II.  paid 
another  visit  to  England,  being  there  again  received, 
both  at  court  and  on  the  part  of  the  population,  with 
pronounced  cordiality. 

On  November  1,  1894,  died  Czar  Alexander  III.  The 
Kaiser  happened  to  be  in  Stettin,  helping  to  celebrate 
a  regimental  festivity  of  the  2d  Regiment  of  the  Gren- 
adiers. While  at  table  news  was  brought  of  the  death, 
and  the  Kaiser  at  once  rose  and  said: 

"...  Just  now  news  comes  of  a  saddening  and  por- 
tentous event.     His  Majesty  the  Czar  is  dead! 

"  Nicholas  II.  has  ascended  the  throne  of  his  fathers, 
one  of  the  most  momentous  inheritances  into  which  a 
ruler  can  enter.  We  who  are  assembled  here,  and 
have  just  thrown  a  backward  glance  at  our  traditions, 
are  also  conscious  of  those  ties  which  formerly  were 
cemented  by  the  blood-brotherhood  of  war  and  which 
have  of  late  united  us  anew  with  the  Russian  imperial 
house.  We  express  our  feelings  for  the  new  Czar,  just 
entering  on  his  duties,  by  wishing  him  the  assistance  of 
Heaven  to  lend  him  strength  for  his  heavy  task.  May 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  II.  live  long!     Hurrah!" 

From  the  first,  relations  between  the  new  Russian 
potentate  and  William  II.  were  better  and  more  cordial 
than  they. had  ever  been  with  Alexander  III.  The  dis- 
tinct improvement  dating  from  his  accession  benefited 
also  the  relations  between  the  two  countries. 

It  was  in  the  early  summer  of  1895  that  the  Baltic 
Canal  was  opened.     The  Kaiser  had  personally  devised 


cal  relations  with  Russia.  When 
Count  Capri vi,  then  his  Chancel- 
lor, came  to  him  with  the  news 
of    having    perfected    the    new 


commercial  treaty  with  Russia, 
he  called  it  "a  real  saving  deed!" 
Commerce  between  Russia  and 
Germany  was  doubled. — Ed. 

22 


THE   MAINTENANCE  OF   WORLD   PEACE 

the  whole  elaborate  programme  of  the  series  of  festiv- 
ities which  were  to  mark  this  event,  and  he  it  was,  too, 
who  supervised  its  execution  in  every  detail.  In  the 
main  his  design  was  to  turn  the  affair  into  an  imposing 
and  impressive  demonstration  in  favor  of  peace  and 
harmony  among  the  civilized  nations.  The  provisions 
were  of  such  a  character  that  even  France  could  not 
refuse  to  join  in  the  demonstration.  The  Kaiser  util- 
ized to  the  full  the  rare  opportunity  offered  him  by  this 
concourse  of  distinguished  guests,  met  for  a  common 
purpose,  in  making  propaganda  for  his  ideas.  Several 
of  his  set  and  impromptu  speeches  during  the  week 
of  festive  events  attest  it. 

On  June  18th,  at  the  preliminary  fete  in  Hamburg, 
he  said,  in  answer  to  the  formal  address  by  the  mayor, 
Dr.  Monckeberg,  among  other  things: 

"  We  join  two  oceans.  Towards  the  sea  our  thoughts 
are  turning— the  sea,  symbol  of  eternity.  Oceans  do 
not  sever;  they  join.  And  the  binding  oceans  are  in 
turn  joined  by  this  new  link,  for  the  good  and  the  peace 
of  nations.  The  iron-clad  power  now  assembled  in 
Kiel  harbor  is,  at  the  same  time,  meant  to  be  a  symbol 
of  peace,  of  the  co-operation  of  all  civilized  nations  in 
the  preservation  and  maintenance  of  Europe's  mission 
of  civilization. 

"  And  having  cast  a  glance  at  the  eternal  sea,  we  now 
turn  and  look  upon  the  sea  of  nations.  The  hearts  of 
all  nations  turn  questioningly  hitherward.  They  de- 
mand and  desire  peace.  In  times  of  peace  only  the 
commerce  of  the  world  can  develop  and  expand, 
and  peace  we  will  and  must  maintain.  Hamburg's 
commerce,  too,  may  it  blossom  and  flourish !  It 
will  ever  find  the  protection  of  the  imperial  eagle, 
no    matter    where    its    paths    may    lead    across    the 

world " 

23 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

Eminently  pacific,  too,  was  the  oration  which  the 
Kaiser  made,  on  June  21st,  at  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone of  the  Baltic  Canal,1  in  the  presence  of  a  score 
of  crowned  heads  and  of  hundreds  of  their  naval  and 
diplomatic  representatives  from  all  the  leading  coun- 
tries of  the  globe.  The  United  States,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, was  represented  on  this  occasion  by  a  fine 
naval  squadron,  comprising  the  (at  that  time)  finest 
and  most  powerful  vessels  afloat.  Its  most  interesting 
portion  was  as  follows: 

"  With  joy  and  pride  I  look  upon  this  brilliant  and 
festive  gathering,  and  jointly  with  my  exalted  allies  I 
bid  you,  the  guests  of  the  empire,  a  cordial  welcome. 
Our  heartfelt  thanks  to  you  all  for  the  fellow-feeling 
shown  in  the  completion  of  a  work  which,  planned  and 
executed  in  peace,  is  to-day  given  over  to  the  world 
for  general  use.  .  .  . 

"...  But  we  have  toiled  not  alone  for  home  interests. 
In  accordance  with  the  civilizatory  mission  of  the  Ger- 
man nation,  we  throw  open  to-day  the  locks  of  this 
canal  to  the  peaceful  commerce  of  all  nations.  It  will 
be  a  just  source  of  gratification  to  us  if  the  growing  use 
to  which  it  is  put  will  testify  that  the  aims  which  im- 
pelled us  have  not  alone  been  appreciated,  but  that  it 
will  promote  the  welfare  of  the  world. 

"  Participation  in  this  dedicatory  festivity  on  the 
part  of  the  powers  whose  representatives  we  see 
among  us,  and  whose  magnificent  vessels  we  have  all  of 
us  admired,  I  appreciate  the  more,  as  I  look  upon  it  as 
a  proof  that  our  efforts  for  the  maintenance  of  peace 
are  properly  recognized.  Germany  will  utilize  for 
peaceful  purposes  the  great  enterprise  which  we  in- 


1  The  official  name  given  this  ca- 
nal, joining  between  points  about 
fifteen  miles  up  the  Elbe  mouth, 

24 


from  Hamburg,  the  North  Sea 
to  the  Baltic  Ocean,  near  Kiel,  is 
Kaiser  Wilhelm  Canal. — Ed. 


THE   MAINTENANCE   OF  WORLD   PEACE 

augurate  to-day,  and  will  rejoice  if  the  Kaiser  Wilhelm 
Canal,  in  furtherance  of  this  idea,  will  have  a  share  in 
consolidating  and  aiding  our  amicable  relations  to  the 
other  powers.  ..." 

On  July  12th  Czar  Nicholas  II.,  at  a  banquet  in  Peter- 
hof,  spoke  in  a  markedly  appreciative  vein  of  the  un- 
usually pacific  tone  of  the  Kaiser's  speech  at  the  canal 
opening.  He  declared  that  "the  warm  and  cordial 
note  in  it  finds  a  hearty  response  in  my  own  heart." 
The  relations  between  the  German  Kaiser  and  the  au- 
tocrat of  Russia  gained,  despite  the  growing  intimacy 
of  the  Russo-French  entente,  more  and  more  in  warmth. 
Although  the  Czar,  perforce,  kept  up  the  friendship 
with  France  brought  about  under  his  father's  reign,  he, 
nevertheless,  was  by  no  means  unfriendly  in  his  deal- 
ings with  the  Kaiser  and  the  empire.  It  is  even  quite 
permissible  to  assume  that  Czar  Nicholas  II.,  whom 
the  world  soon  was  to  recognize  as  an  eminent  prince  of 
peace,  utilized  precisely  the  excellent  relations  between 
Russia  and  France  in  striving  for  a  gradual  reconcil- 
iation between  France  and  Germany.  Important 
events  which  soon  after  culminated  in  far  Asia  and 
elsewhere  admit  of  hardly  any  other  solution. 

It  is,  however,  rather  significant  that  the  Kaiser  has 
made  no  public  utterance  since  the  opening  of  the 
Baltic  Canal  which  can  be  construed  as  championing 
peace.  At  least,  none  such  has  been  reported.  Is  it, 
therefore,  to  be  deduced  that  his  views  have  undergone 
a  change  in  this  respect,  as  they  certainly  did  in  other 
and  vital  respects  ?  Or  is  it  fair  to  him  to  assume  that 
his  purpose  once  served,  and  his  reputation  as  a  peace- 
loving  ruler  established,  he  felt  it  no  longer  incumbent 
upon  himself  to  play  the  conspicuous  role  of  a  "prince 
of  peace"?  Probably  both  factors  had  something  to 
do  with  it.     Further  on  in  this  book,  for  instance,  will 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

be  found  some  more  recent  speeches  by  the  Kaiser  in 
which  he,  apparently  without  restraint  and  giving  full 
vent  to  his  natural  bent  for  warlike  glory,  talks  in  a 
very  different  strain  from  that  reported  with  such 
genuine  approval  by  M.  Jules  Simon.  Another  thing, 
too,  ought  to  be  given  weight  in  judging  the  Kaiser. 
His  is  a  very  complex  nature,  and  in  his  impulsive 
way  he  has  quite  frequently  spoken,  under  the  stress 
of  momentary  excitement,  very  differently  on  impor- 
tant topics  at  different  times. 


II 

THE    KAISER    AND    FRANCE 

His  interesting  relations  with  the  French  statesman,  Jules 
Simon — A  graphic  portrait — Failure  of  the  Empress  Fred- 
erick's visit  to  Paris — Telegrams  and  letters  of  condolence 
— The  Kaiser  and  the  Dreyfus  affair — The  incident  of  the 
Iphigenie — Kaiser's  magnanimous  speech  on  the  battle-field 
of  St.  Privat — His  toast  to  his  French  guest,  General  Bon- 
nal,  and  to  the  French  army. 

When  Kaiser  William  II.  came  to  reign,  France  had 
not  yet  disentangled  herself  from  the  turbulent  and 
dangerous  political  disorder  precipitated  by  the  Bou- 
langist  party.  The  importance  of  Boulanger  and  the 
movement  which  took  its  name  from  him  lay  solely 
in  his  urging  on  a  war  of  revenge,  and  in  the  acutely 
Germanophobe  state  of  mind  in  France  brought  on  by 
him  and  his  aides  and  allies,  threatening  to  produce  at 
any  moment  an  explosion  of  such  violence  as  to  render 
subsequent  peaceable  adjustment  very  difficult,  if  not 
impossible. 

When  the  then  Tirard  cabinet  finally  resolved,  on 
March  26,  1888,  to  deprive  Boulanger,  on  the  plea  of 
having  disobeyed  orders,  of  his  command  of  the  13th 
Army  Corps,  it  left  Boulanger,  but  lately  elected  a 
member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  the  more  free  to 
continue  his  agitation  and  his  ramified  activity  look- 
ing to  a  revision  of  the  French  constitution.  These 
machinations  on  the  part  of  the  Boulangist  party  were 
prone  to  threaten,  if  successful,  the  peace  of  the  world. 

27 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

The  storm,  however,  blew  over,  and  the  consistently 
pacific  attitude  which  the  Kaiser  and  his  government 
at  that  critical  time  preserved  assisted  the  process  of 
internal  readjustment  in  France,  at  least  indirectly. 

In  1889  France  had  her  great  jubilee  of  the  French 
Revolution,  and  this  centenary  celebration  had  its 
most  conspicuous  illustration  in  the  universal  exposi- 
tion held  at  Paris  that  year.  Germany  had  refused, 
while  the  old  emperor,  William  I.,  was  still  alive,  to  at- 
tend the  exposition.  This  attitude  of  Germany,  while 
probably  wise  and  appropriate  under  the  given  cir- 
cumstances, had,  nevertheless,  considerably  piqued  the 
French.  On  May  6th  the  exposition  was  opened.  Short- 
ly before  that,  the  League  of  Patriots,  under  Deroulede, 
whose  principal  object  was  the  keeping  alive  of  the 
revanche  idea,  had  joined  hands  with  Boulanger.  But 
their  joy  was  short-lived.  Boulanger,  when  the  gov- 
ernment made  up  its  mind  to  indict  him,  fled,  first  to 
Brussels,  and  next  to  London.  The  alliance  which  the 
French  government  had  so  ardently  desired  formally  to 
conclude  with  Russia  had  now  to  be  indefinitely  post- 
poned, at  least  until  the  inchoate  internal  conditions 
in  the  republic,  which  at  that  particular  juncture 
seemed  destined  soon  to  go  under,  had  again  found 
their  sound  and  natural  level.  The  French  govern- 
ment had  first  to  furnish  the  Czar  with  proof  that  it 
was  both  willing  and  able  to  create  anew  order  out  of 
chaos.  With  that  object  in  view  it  finally  took  the 
bull  by  the  horns,  and  placed  not  only  Boulanger  but 
the  whole  League  of  Patriots  under  accusation,  alleg- 
ing as  reason  their  dangerous  tendencies,  calculated 
to  undermine  the  welfare  and  security  of  the  state. 
Boulanger,  Dillon,  and  Rochefort  were  sentenced,  in 
contumaciam,  to  deportation.  The  manifesto  which 
Boulanger  published  soon  after  had  no  very  palpable 
effect  in  France.     And  when  the  great  and  profitable 

28 


THE   KAISER   AND   FRANCE 

exposition  closed,  President  Carnot,  as  well  as  Premier 
Tirard,  were  able  to  make  addresses  breathing  peace 
and  good-will.  A  dangerous  reef,  threatening  at  the 
very  outset  of  William  II.'s  reign  to  involve  him  in  war 
and  possible  shipwreck,  had  been  removed  from  view. 
In  the  succeeding  year,  1890,  the  Kaiser  convened  in 
Berlin  an  international  conference  for  the  protection 
and  safety  of  the  laboring  classes.  One  of  the  French 
delegates  was  the  noted  political  leader  and  writer 
Jules  Simon.  He,  who  had  been  treated  with  particu- 
lar distinction  and  tact  by  the  Kaiser,  gained  a  very 
high  opinion  of  the  latter.  It  was  probably  due  to 
Simon  that  the  French  journal  Le  Parisien  about  this 
time  said  in  an  editorial  article : 

"Kaiser  William  has  made  a  speech  at  the  opening  of  the 
Reichstag  which,  as  regards  the  preservation  of  universal  peace, 
was  of  undeniable  quieting  effect.  In  it  he  stated  emphatical- 
ly his  purpose  to  launch  the  imperial  policy  more  and  more 
into  the  paths  which  lead  to  a  study,  amelioration  and  possi- 
ble final  solution  of  the  social  question. 

"The  physiognomy  of  the  young  sovereign  accentuates  it- 
self from  day  to  day  with  greater  distinctness.  Certainly  he 
has  remained  above  all  a  soldier,  for,  in  enumerating  the  re- 
forms aimed  at  by  him,  he  concludes  with  threatening  dis- 
turbers of  the  peace,  just  as  he  is  creating  new  regiments  all 
the  time,  so  as  to  secure,  in  his  own  way,  the  peace  of  Europe. 

"Nevertheless,  it  seems  that  the  grandson  of  William  the 
Conqueror  means  to  conquer,  first  of  all,  the  working-man. 
He  clearly  sees  the  requirements  of  the  times,  and  he  loyally 
acknowledges  his  duty  to  do  all  in  his  power  in  order  to  im- 
prove the  lot  of  those  who  are  born  to  toil  and  suffering. 

"With  us  the  successor  of  Frederick  III.  has  been  greatly 
distrusted.  At  his  accession  there  were  many  who  believed 
that  war  would  come  because  of  diplomatic  jugglery,  or  be- 
cause of  frontier  disputes  magnified  for  the  purpose.  Next 
we  have  smiled  at  his  feverish  activity,  his  odes  to  the  stars, 
his  ceaseless  parades,  his  innumerable  hunting  excursions,  his 
rescripts  regulating  the  most  trivial  things. 

"We  must  abandon  the  scoffing  mood.     Kaiser  William  II. 

29 


THE    KAISER'S    SPEECHES 

has  the  will  to  do  the  right  and  the  good.  He  works  hard,  and 
he  understands  exceedingly  well  conditions  with  which  sov- 
ereigns as  a  rule  do  not  trouble  themselves. 

"This  is  no  reason  why  we  should  love  him  (there  is  too 
much  spilt  blood  between  him  and  France),  but  it  is  a  reason 
why  we  should  no  longer  speak  of  him  with  self-sufficiency. 
Only  by  taking  ourselves  the  lead  in  all  reforms,  only  by  con- 
tinuing ourselves  to  be  the  benefactors  of  mankind,  only  by 
breaking  ourselves  the  old,  worn-out  moulds,  and  making 
steadily  towards  progress  in  all  great  things,  may  our  country 
successfully  grapple  with  the  new  methods  inaugurated  by  our 
foes." 

Under  his  own  signature  Jules  Simon  published  in 
the  Revue  de  Paris,  in  1894  (in  its  August  issue),  a  por- 
trait sketch  of  Kaiser  William.  Some  excerpts  from 
it  are  of  interest.     He  says: 

"...  For  a  long  time  I  have  been  asked  to  give  a  portrait  of 
William  II.,  but  I  am  resolved  not  to  draw  one.  I  have  not 
the  time  to  do  justice  to  it.  .  .  .  He  who  would  draw  such  a 
portrait  would  have  to  study  thoroughly  every  phase  of  the 
history  of  Europe  since  the  death  of  Kaiser  Frederick,  for 
nothing  has  happened  since  then  in  which  William  II.  has  not 
had  a  hand.  The  author  would  also  have  to  make  himself 
acquainted  with  all  the  mazes  of  diplomacy  and  with  the  life 
of  the  courts,  and  to  do  this  down  to  the  very  smallest  details. 
For  that  is  one  of  the  peculiar  and  characteristic  traits  of  the 
young  Kaiser's  mind,  that  it  embraces  at  one  and  the  same 
time  the  biggest  as  well  as  the  most  trivial  matters.  He 
knows  in  advance  what  is  contained  in  the  reports  of  his  chan- 
cellor and  of  his  courtiers.  His  biographer  would  also  have 
to  possess  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  life  of  those  great 
contemporaries  who  have  had  dealings  with  William  II.,  above 
all,  of  the  life  of  Prince  Bismarck,  who  in  a  certain  sense  has 
been  the  sharer  of  imperial  power,  and  that  of  Count  Moltke, 
whose  life  was  as  glorious  and  not  quite  so  stormy  as  Bis- 
marck's. 

"...  I  have  been  told  that  I  have  seen  and  conversed  with 
him.  True.  But  that  I  have  done  jointly  with  all  those 
diplomats  who  have  spent  some  time  in  Berlin.  One  cannot 
judge  a  man  like  this  one  in  half  an  hour,  nor  even  in  two  hours. 

30 


THE   KAISER  AND   FRANCE 

" .  .  .  It  is  necessary  to  create  a  third  category  for  William 
II.  He  talks  much  because  he  thinks  much,  and  he  confides 
to  you  his  thoughts,  even  without  knowing  you,  because  he 
means  to  let  the  whole  world  know  his  thoughts. 

"...  The  congress  which  I  attended  took  place  in  the  halls 
of  the  chancellor's  palace — i.  e.,  at  Bismarck's,  whose  position 
at  that  time,  though  it  was  just  before  his  retirement,  did  not 
appear  to  be  shaken.  The  Kaiser  did  not  come  to  the  opening 
of  our  sessions,  and  never  put  in  an  appearance  at  the  congress. 
But  we  were  invited  to  a  great  court  reception,  to  a  concert 
given  in  honor  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  to  a  banquet  which 
the  Kaiser  gave  us.  These  monarchical  ceremonies  were  an 
interesting  spectacle  for  me,  who  was  not  brought  up  on  the 
lap  of  duchesses,  and  also  for  my  French  colleagues,  who  had 
not  even  known  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III.  personally. 

"...  The  whole  crowd  pressed  towards  a  wide  entrance  at 
the  moment  when  the  majesties  were  announced.  The  Em- 
peror and  the  Empress  saluted  right  and  left,  and  chatted  for 
a  moment  with  guests  of  distinction.  The  Kaiser  accosted  me 
in  an  amiable  manner,  saying  a  few  pleasant  words,  and  the 
Empress  did  the  same,  which,  I  am  told,  is  a  favor  seldom 
shown  on  her  part.  The  court  marshal  then  begged  me  to 
take  my  seat  at  the  table  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Kaiser.  .  .  . 

' '  I  thus  found  myself  at  table  between  the  Kaiser  and  a 
lady — -I  believe  a  lady-in-waiting,  or  the  chief  marechale.  The 
Empress  sat  on  the  left  of  the  Kaiser,  and  she  had  on  her  left 
the  Bishop  of  Breslau,  my  colleague,  and  the  vice-president  of 
the  congress,  he  who  since  has  become  his  Eminence  Cardinal 
Prince-Bishop  Kopp.  Count  Moltke  sat  opposite  the  Kaiser, 
and  hence  directly  facing  me.  The  Kaiser  chatted  with  me 
during  the  whole  of  the  dinner.  My  memory  is  not  exact 
enough  to  say  what  he  told  me  on  that  particular  day,  or  on  one 
of  the  succeeding  ones.  But  I  recall  at  least  the  substance  of 
the  principal  conversations  I  had  with  him.  On  that  particu- 
lar day  on  which  he,  standing  on  the  steps  of  the  throne,  re- 
ceived the  whole  court,  there  was,  of  course,  no  conversation 
with  him,  and  this  applies  also  to  the  great  concert  which  took 
place  in  the  White  Hall  of  the  royal  castle.  But  the  Kaiser 
has  created  another  kind  of  court  of  which  he  told  me  himself, 
arid  which  is  envied  as  intensely  as  was  the  Marly  court  of 
Louis  XIV.  The  Kaiser  receives  every  week,  on  a  certain 
night,  twenty  of  his  friends — no  more.    I  quote  his  own  words: 

"'I  receive  twenty  friends,  no  more — officers,  professors. 

3i 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

The  public  believes  that  we  meet  in  order  to  hold  a  species  of 
secret  council  of  state.  It  is  supposed  that  we  occupy  our- 
selves with  politics.  On  the  contrary!  We  simply  meet  for 
relaxation,  and  to  drink  and  gossip.  We  talk  about  art,  about 
literature.' 

"The  Kaiser  honored  me  with  an  invitation  to  one  of  these 
informal  meetings.  ...  It  was  dusk,  the  hall  not  too  well  lit, 
and  the  light  of  waning  day  struggled  with  that  of  the  candles. 
The  whole  furniture  consisted  of  a  number  of  stools  around  a 
large  table  covered  with  green  cloth.  I  fancied  I  was  in  an 
antechamber,  when  suddenly  one  of  the  officers  detached  him- 
self from  a  group  near  by  and  approached  me,  asking  whether 
I  had  been  pleased  with  my  visit  to  Sans  Souci.  I  immediately 
recognized  the  Kaiser.  I  had,  indeed,  been  to  Sans  Souci  that 
morning  in  one  of  the  court  coaches,  offered  me  in  the  most 
amiable  way.  He  wanted  to  know  exactly  what  impression 
Sans  Souci  had  made  on  me.  I  told  him  that  Voltaire's  room, 
arranged  in  somewhat  forced  taste,  had  not  pleased  me.  He 
at  once  spoke  of  the  rooms  of  Frederick  the  Great. 

'"I  have  seen  them,'  I  said,  ' and  I  have  also  found  his  desk, 
but  not  his  flute.' 

' '  Laughingly  he  answered  that  I  should  at  least  see  the 
score  of  the  flute  concerts,  of  which  he  was  getting  out  an 
edition,  and  on  which  much  care  was  being  expended.  He 
said  he  was  going  to  send  me  a  copy  of  it.  Nobody  could  have 
made  a  present  in  a  more  amiable  manner.  The  book  was, 
indeed,  sent  me  some  time  after  in  Paris  by  the  German  Em- 
bassy there. 

"  We  seated  ourselves  around  the  green  table,  and,  as  on  the 
day  of  the  banquet,  I  was  told  to  sit  next  to  the  Kaiser.  Then 
the  smoking  and  drinking  began.  This  time  I  had  a  long  con- 
versation with  the  Kaiser.  The  meeting  lasted  till  long  after 
midnight.  Before  reporting  about  this  conversation  I  must 
speak  of  the  Kaiser's  French. 

"He  does  speak  French. 

"'Fluently?' 

"Very  fluently. 

"  'Correctly?' 

"Very  correctly. 

"'Does  he  speak  it  with  an  accent?' 

"Entirely  without  an  accent.  The  one  of  us  two  who 
spoke  the  purest  French  was  he.  For  I  have  in  my  language 
a  little,  perhaps  very  little,  of  the  Breton  accent,  and  the  Kaiser 

32 


THB   KAISER   AND   FRANCE 

speaks  like  a  Parisian.  He  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  his 
pronunciation. 

'"You  speak,'  I  said,  'like  a  Parisian.' 

" 'That  is  not  astonishing,'  he  replied.  '  I  have  a  friend  (he 
uses  this  term  by  preference  when  mentioning  his  servants) 
who  was  my  tutor  for  ten  years  and  who  still  remains  with  me. 
He  is  a  Frenchman  and  a  purist.  Have  you  ever  heard  me 
use  an  incorrect  expression?' 

("I  am  not  only  member  of  the  Academy,  but  also  member 
of  the  commission  for  the  publication  of  our  great  French 
dictionary.) 

'"Only  once,'  I  answered. 

"I  saw  that  the  Kaiser  was  astonished. 

'"And  when  was  that?'  he  asked. 

" '  It  was  when  your  Majesty  said  to  me,  "  We  meet  to  drink 
and  gossip,"  using  the  term  godailler.' 

"'But  godailler  is  a  good  French  word,'  said  the  Kaiser. 
'You  will  find  it  in  the  dictionary  of  the  Academy.' 

"'It  is  in  the  dictionary.  But  it  is  used  neither  in  the 
Academy  nor  in  the  drawing-rooms  of  the  Academy.' 

"'I  shall  make  a  note  of  that.  And  that  was  the  only 
time?' 

"'I  swear  to  your  Majesty,  you  are,  like  your  teacher,  a 
purist.' 

"This  little  matter  seemed  to  amuse  him  hugely.  In  the 
further  course  of  our  conversation  I  noticed  that  he  possessed 
an  extraordinarily  intimate  acquaintance  with  our  principal 
writers.  Since  I  know  how  he  manages  to  keep  constantly 
au  courant  of  all  the  details  of  state  and  army  affairs,  and  since 
I  saw  how  crowded  and  intense  his  life  is,  I  could  not  under- 
stand how  he  still  found  time  to  read  French  novels.  He  as- 
sured me  also  that  he  enjoyed  family  life,  and  that  he  was 
never  happier  than  when  dining  at  home,  alone  with  his  family, 
like  a  plain  Berlin  citizen.  His  wife,  he  said,  was  in  the  habit 
of  reading  a  chapter  from  a  novel  before  retiring.1  This  must 
surely  be  true,  because  he  told  me  so,  although  such  a  univer- 
sality is  scarcely  credible.     But  his  is  a  mind  which  is  never 


1  But  whatever  may  have  been 
true  in  1890  in  this  respect,  now- 
adays the  Kaiser,  except  during 
his  Northland  summer  trips  on 
board  his  yacht,  hardly  ever  reads 


a  novel,  and  relatively  but  few 
books  of  any  kind.  Those  he  does 
read  treat,  with  rare  exceptions, 
of  serious  topics — naval,  military, 
political,  economic,  etc. — Ed. 


33 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

in  repose,  never  loses  a  minute's  time,  and  grasps  everything 
with  amazing  rapidity. 

"I  was  fishing  for  some  expression  from  him  about  our 
modern  writers,  and  he  did  make  such  a  one,  without  being 
much  pressed.  Instantly  he  showed  sympathy  and  antipathy, 
both  of  a  passionate  kind.  His  admiration  was  for  Ohnet, 
about  whom  he  spoke  in  a  few  amiable  phrases,  turned  with 
the  skill  and  acumen  of  a  professional  critic.  His  antipathy 
was  for  Zola,  and,  I  must  confess,  it  was  very  violent.  I  made 
an  attempt  to  defend  my  famous  compatriot,  and  said  that  he 
was  an  incomparable  teller  of  stories  and  a  very  keen  ob- 
server. 

"'I  know  very  well,'  said  the  Kaiser,  'that  he  has  great 
merits.  But  he  does  not  owe  his  success  to  them,  but  rather 
to  the  immoral  and  indecent  things  with  which  he  poisons  his 
writings.  And  yet  he  it  is  whom  France  at  present  prefers  to 
all  her  other  writers.  He  it  is  who  is  accorded  enthusiastic 
acclaim,  and  that  gives  us  in  other  countries  the  right  to  pass 
a  severe  verdict  on  the  state  of  your  morals.' 

"  I  was  suffering  acutely  at  this  moment,  all  the  more  as  the 
Kaiser  made  this  remark  without  bad  intention  and  without 
prejudice. 

"'I  hear,'  continued  the  Kaiser,  'that  a  new  book  by  him 
is  soon  to  appear.  You  will  see  that  that,  too,  will  be  greedily 
devoured,  and  that  your  whole  literature  will  disappear  before 
this  news.' 

"I  took  the  liberty  to  remark  that  Zola  is  read,  too,  in 
Berlin. 

"'Not  with  pleasure,'  said  the  Kaiser,  'and  more  from  cu- 
riosity. His  readers  here  are  but  thinly  distributed.  But  in 
your  country  he  will  be  in  the  hands  of  everybody.' 

"I  should  have  liked  to  obtain  from  the  Kaiser  some  ex- 
pression of  political  import,  but  did  not  like  to  force  the  con- 
versation into  that  channel.  However,  I  made  several  at- 
tempts in  that  direction,  with  all  the  diplomatic  skill  I  could 
muster,  and  put  on  a  very  innocent  face  the  while.  But  the 
Kaiser  has  an  indescribable  manner  of  overhearing  at  certain 
moments  certain  words.  Nevertheless,  I  succeeded  in  prod- 
ding him  into  two  expressions,  both  of  which  I  rejoiced  to 
hear,  although  they  are  not  at  all  original.  We  spoke  about 
the  war,  and  the  Kaiser  said : 

"'Since  my  accession  I  have  thought  a  great  deal,  and  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  for  a  man  situated  as  I  am 

34 


THE   KAISER  AND   FRANCE 

it  is  worth  a  great  deal  more  to  do  good  to  mankind  than  to 
inspire  them  with  fear.' 

"And  as  I  then  touched  on  the  question  of  a  possible  future 
war  between  the  two  countries,  and  added  that  the  people  of 
France  were  for  the  far  larger  part  inclined  to  peace,  the 
Kaiser  said,  with  amazing  impartiality: 

'"I  declare  to  you  that  your  army  has  made  splendid 
progress.  It  has  worked  well;  it  is  ready  for  war.  If  your 
army  should — which  I  sincerely  hope  will  never  be  the  case — 
face  our  own  army  on  the  field  of  battle,  nobody  could  foresee 
the  end  of  the  struggle.  And,  therefore,  I  hold  him  a  criminal 
and  a  fool  who  should  undertake  to  urge  these  two  nations 
into  a  war  against  each  other.  .  .  .' 

"I  trust  that  in  this  brief  recital  my  memory  has  not  been 
inexact.  I  have  purposely  been  incomplete  in  it ;  but  I  hope 
for  that  very  reason  I  have  spoken  the  truth.  And  I  believe 
that  these  few  lines  will  be  accepted  as  well  as  an  expression 
of  our  gratitude  for  the  reception  which  the  Kaiser  gave  us. ..." 

However,  politically  Germany  and  France  were  not 
ripe  at  that  time  for  a  closer  understanding.  The 
Kaiser,  though,  was  of  opinion  that  on  the  neutral 
field  of  art  a  gradual  reconciliation  might  be  effected 
between  the  two  countries.  It  was  with  this  purpose 
in  view  that  he  induced  his  mother,  the  Empress  Fred- 
erick, when  she,  in  February,  1891,  went  to  England 
on  a  visit  to  Queen  Victoria,  to  take  her  way  via  Paris. 
She  was  to  try  and  interest  French  artists  in  partici- 
pating in  the  International  Art  Exposition  in  Berlin. 
It  was  the  first  time  since  the  war  of  1870-71  that  a 
member  of  the  German  imperial  family  found  itself  in 
Paris.  The  Empress  Frederick,  accompanied  by  her 
daughter,  Princess  Margaret,  arrived  in  Paris  and 
put  up  at  the  German  Embassy  with  Count  Mini- 
ster. 

The  public  at  first  was  silent,  though  deferential.  A 
number  of  the  leading  French  politicians  and  govern- 
ment officials  called  and  inscribed  their  names  in  the 
lists  of  the  German  Embassy.     The  larger  part  of  the 

35 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

French  press  welcomed  the  Empress  Frederick  very 
amiably.     Le  Parisien  said : 

"The  people,  with  their  common-sense,  show  good-natured 
curiosity,  although  no  real  sympathy,  for  the  German  Em- 
press, since  she  it  was  who  merely  tolerated,  not  provoked,  the 


Le  Gaulois,  usually  rabidly  anti-German,  praised  the 
Empress  Frederick  for  her  exalted  womanly  virtues 
and  for  her  fairness  in  adjudging  France. 

Le  Temps  pointed  out  that  the  Empress  Frederick 
had  repeatedly  expressed  the  sentiment  that  "the  fine 
arts  and  their  culture  will  bring  about  the  approxima- 
tion of  nations,"  and  its  welcoming  article  concluded 
with  the  words: 

' '  Perhaps  we  shall  now  see  the  first  step  in  such  a  policy  of 
reconciliation,  and  the  arrival  of  the  Empress-mother  will  be 
the  first  link  in  such  a  rapprochement." 

This  conciliatory  attitude  of  the  Paris  press  was  in 
consonance  with  the  previous  reports  sent  Kaiser 
William,  and  there  was  no  doubt  that  the  leading 
circles  in  France  at  that  time  felt  well  disposed.  It  is, 
therefore,  unjust  to  the  Kaiser  to  blame  him  for  ex- 
posing his  mother  to  the  insults  of  an  excitable  and 
inconstant  populace.  He  could  not  foresee  the  turn 
which  affairs  took  a  couple  of  days  later. 

On  February  18th  the  Empress-mother  had  arrived 
in  Paris,  and  on  the  24th  the  entire  Paris  press  was 
discussing  the  question,  more  or  less  dispassionately 
and  rationally,  whether  the  time  had  come  to  con- 
sider a  rapprochement  with  Germany.  By  far  the 
larger  number  of  journals  gave  a  verdict  in  favor  of 
the  idea. 

This,  however,  did  not  at  all  suit  the  programme 
of  the  League  of  Patriots,  under  Deroulede,  and  the 

36 


THE   KAISER  AND   FRANCE 

Boulangists.  The  Boulangists  convened  a  largely  at- 
tended mass  -  meeting,  in  which  the  presence  of  the 
Empress  Frederick  was  ventilated  and  the  facts  in  the 
case  were  represented  in  such  twisted  and  garbled 
shape  as  to  make  it  appear  that  the  arrival  and  so- 
journ of  the  Empress  Frederick  was  an  insult  to 
France.     It  was  so  declared  by  the  meeting. 

This  meeting  was  held  on  the  25th,  and  on  the  26th 
demonstrations  were  begun,  and  all  the  French  ar- 
tists, who  already  had  intimated  their  willingness  to  at- 
tend the  Berlin  exposition,  retracted  their  half-promise. 
The  excitement  of  the  masses  in  Paris,  artificially 
produced  by  Boulangist  machinations,  grew  within  a 
few  hours  so  rapidly  that  it  became  necessary  for  the 
Empress  Frederick  to  hurriedly  leave  Paris.  Her  de- 
parture, in  fact,  resembled  a  flight,  and  had  to  be 
managed  with  great  precaution.  Fortunately  for 
peace  and  Franco-German  relations,  she  was  enabled 
to  leave  without  any  serious  disturbance. 

Thus  it  was  that,  owing  to  the  intrigues  of  the  League 
of  Patriots  and  of  the  Boulangists,  the  Kaiser's  design 
to  effect  a  rapprochement  between  the  two  countries, 
hostile  for  a  score  of  years,  and  which  had  been  ap- 
proved and  even  counselled  beforehand  by  a  large 
number  of  the  leading  personages  in  France,  was 
frustrated.  The  Kaiser  was  offended.  He  replied  to 
the  demonstration  of  a  number  of  Parisian  political 
clubs  by  a  decree  which  rendered  once  more  com- 
munication between  Alsace-Lorraine  and  France  very 
difficult.  In  fact,  the  passport  regulations  on  the 
frontier  were  made  so  stringent  that  for  a  time  pas- 
senger traffic  almost  completely  ceased. 

This  retaliatory  measure  increased  bitterness  on  the 
French  side,  and  it  led  to  an  interpellation  by  the 
Boulangists  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  on  July 
1 6th,  as  to  the  passport  measures  taken  by  Germany 

37 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

in  Alsace-Lorraine.  The  French  cabinet,  however,  re- 
fused to  discuss  this  ticklish  subject.  However,  the 
Chamber  was  so  wrought  up  at  the  time  that  it  passed 
a  resolution,  286  against  203  votes,  to  debate  the  inter- 
pellation, notwithstanding  the  government's  refusal 
to  answer  it.  The  government,  though,  was  able  to 
muster  sufficient  votes  to  enforce  adjournment  for  a 
day.  And  on  reassembling  on  the  day  following  the 
Chamber  refused,  by  a  vote  of  319  to  3,  to  enter  into 
a  discussion  of  the  interpellation. 

Notwithstanding  this  incident,  the  year  1891  was  not 
to  close  without  bringing  more  favorable  auspices  for 
reconciliation  with  Germany.  On  October  10th  the 
governor  -  general  of  Alsace  -  Lorraine,  Prince  Hohen- 
lohe,1  was  given  a  grand  ovation  in  Strassburg,  on 
his  return  from  a  trip  to  Berlin,  the  occasion  being  the 
rescinding  of  the  decree  relative  to  the  enforcement  of 
passport  regulations  in  passing  the  frontier  either  way. 
This  step,  it  was  ascertained  later  on,  was  due  to  the 
initiative  of  the  Kaiser,  and  the  fact  created  a  very 
good  impression,  not  only  in  Germany  and  in  the 
Reichslande,2  but  in  France  as  well. 

A  new  proof  of  his  conciliatory  spirit  was  furnished 
by  the  Kaiser  in  his  speech  in  Stettin,  on  December 
14th,  on  the  launching  of  the  big  iron-clad,  the  Weis- 
senburg.     He  said  in  it: 

"Thou  shalt  bear  the  name  of  that  day  which  was 
portentous  for  our  history,  for  on  that  day3  was  laid 
the  foundation-stone  for  the  structure  whose  summit 
bears  the  imperial  crown.     The  name  will  recall  that 


1  Subsequently  Chancellor  of 
the  Empire. 

a  The  official  German  designa- 
tion for  Alsace-Lorraine,  meaning 
"lands  belonging  to  the  empire." 


3  The  battle  of  Weissenburg 
was  the  first  serious  engagement 
that  took  place  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Franco  -  German 
War.— Ed. 


38 


The  kaiser  and  France 

battle-field  on  which,  for  the  first  time,  under  the 
leadership  of  Crown  -  prince  Frederick  William,  the 
united  German  armies  won  a  victory  over  the  knight- 
ly foe,  and  by  this  first  victory  for  the  German  arms 
earned  the  possibility  of  further  successes." 

This  single  word  "knightly"  sufficed  once  more  to 
give  encouragement  to  the  advocates  of  reconciliation 
in  France. 

In  1893,  after  the  adjustment  of  the  Panama  Canal 
scandal,  the  internal  conditions  of  France  began  per- 
ceptibly to  improve.  The  republic  was  not  swamped, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  found  that  after  the 
complete  removal  of  Boulanger  sounder  life  was  in- 
fused into  French  parliamentarism. 

On  October  18th  the  German  ambassador  in  Paris, 
Count  Minister,  sent  the  following  telegram  to  the 
widow  of  ex-President  MacMahon: 

"  His  Majesty  the  German  Emperor,  as  soon  as  he  had  been 
informed  of  the  sad  loss  which  you  have  suffered,  instructed 
me  to  depose  a  wreath  upon  the  grave  of  the  intrepid, 
noble-minded  field-marshal,  thus  to  testify  to  his  deep  sym- 
pathy. ..." 

This  courteous  attention  shown  by  the  Kaiser  made 
a  great  impression  in  France,  and  Jules  Simon  sum- 
moned enough  courage  to  write  in  Le  Figaro,  a  fort- 
night later,  on  the  question  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  in  a 
manner  which  two  years  before  would  not  have  been 
tolerated.     He  wrote: 

"  How  often  have  they  told  me  in  Germany:  '  You  have  ob- 
stinately made  up  your  minds  not  to  sign  the  receipt.  Re- 
sign yourselves  at  last  to  the  thought  that  the  two  provinces 
are  lost  to  you — which  is  an  accomplished  fact — and  peace, 
real  peace,  will  be  at  once  established  between  the  two  coun- 
tries'!  I  can  well  believe  that.  But  the  Prussians,  who 
give  us  this  advice,  themselves  did  not  act  on  it  after  Jena. 

39 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

They  know  just  as  well  as  we  do  that  honor  does  not  permit 
us  to  follow  it.  We  cannot  supinely  acquiesce  in  the  conquest 
while  our  forcibly  Germanized  brothers  stretch  out  their  arms 
to  us.  It  is  not  our  duty  to  assume  responsibilities  for  the 
future.  But  that  which  we  may  properly  do,  and  what  it  is 
quite  possible  to  do,  is  to  postpone  all  ideas  of  war  and  revenge. 
And  this  we  are  now  doing.  Public  opinion  demands  a  truce 
for  a  long  period,  and  the  giving  notice  of  its  termination  on 
short  order,  and  on  the  basis  of  present  territorial  possessions. 
Public  opinion  is  ready  to  prolong  this  truce  until  the  end  of 
the  century,  in  the  hope  that  peaceable  toil  will  bring  about  a 
reposeful  and  conciliatory  frame  of  mind.  That  at  this  mo- 
ment is  our  role  and  our  thought." 

On  June  24,  1894,  the  President  of  the  French  Re- 
public, Carnot,  while  in  Lyons,  fell  a  victim  to  the 
dagger  of  the  Italian  assassin  and  anarchist,  Caserio. 
The  very  first  personage  outside  of  France  who  ex- 
pressed his  sympathy  at  the  horrible  deed  was  the 
German  Emperor.     He  telegraphed : 

"  To  Madame  Carnot,  Paris, — Her  Majesty  the 
Empress  and  myself  are  most  deeply  grieved  at 
receipt  of  the  awful  news  from  Lyons.  Be  assured, 
madame,  that  our  full  sympathy  and  all  our  thoughts 
are  at  this  moment  with  you  and  your  family.  May 
God  give  you  strength  to  withstand  this  terrible 
blow.  Worthy  of  his  great  name,  Monsieur  Carnot 
died  like  a  soldier  on  the  field  of  honor. 

"William  L  R." 

This  telegram  from  the  German  Emperor  was  greeted 
in  the  great  majority  of  Paris  papers  with  sincere 
approval.  Casimir  Perier  succeeded  to  the  presidency. 
The  Kaiser  shortly  after  resolved  on  another  mani- 
festation. Two  French  naval  officers,  sentenced  as 
spies  to  terms  of,  respectively,  six  and  four  years 
confinement,  and  who  had  only  served  six  months  of 

40 


THE   KAISER  AND   FRANCE 

their  time  in  the  fortress  of  Glatz,  were  pardoned  by 
the  Kaiser.  This  act  of  clemency  was  accompanied 
by  the  declaration  that  it  was  done  to  show  sympathy 
with  the  French  people  at  this  their  hour  of  profound 
grief.  This  courtly  act  of  the  Kaiser's  deeply  moved 
wide  strata  of  the  French  nation.  The  major  por- 
tion of  the  Paris  press  received  his  accompanying 
declaration  with  enthusiastic  gratitude.  The  newly 
elected  President,  Perier,  personally  went  to  the  Ger- 
man Embassy  to  render  his  thanks  for  the  chivalrous 
act.  Large  numbers  of  leading  French  politicians  fol- 
lowed his  example.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
German  press,  in  its  overwhelming  portion,  did  not 
agree  with  the  Kaiser  in  this  matter,  opining  that  this 
meant  a  too  great  friendliness  of  their  ruler  towards 
the  French. 

In  his  book  Quatre  Portraits,  in  1896,  Jules  Simon 
said: 

' '  I  cannot  help  expressing  the  view  that  the  attitude  of  the 
German  Emperor  towards  France  has,  especially  lately,  met  all 
my  expectations  and  hopes.  ...  I  regard  Emperor  William  II. 
and  Pope  Leo  XIII.  as  the  two  most  interesting  figures  of  our 
time.  .  .  .  The  Kaiser,  I  sincerely  believe,  is  one  of  the  greatest 
hopes  for  the  continuance  of  peace.  I  believe — I  know — that  he 
wishes  peace.  He  does  not  feel  hostile  towards  France ;  he  has 
studied  her  in  every  phase.  He  has  shown,  under  peculiarly 
difficult  circumstances,  courtesy  and  friendliness.  I  no  more 
than  others  have  forgotten  1870,  and  have  never  for  a  mo- 
ment lost  sight  of  French  hopes.  But  I  put  peace,  so  long  as 
honor  remains  intact,  above  all  other  earthly  boons,  and  I  be- 
lieve with  the  Kaiser  that  every  hour  of  prolonged  peace  pro- 
motes peace  itself." 

On  January  29,  1895,  the  Kaiser  sent  the  following 
telegram  to  the  son-in-law  of  Marshal  Canrobert,  the 
naval  lieutenant  De  Navacelle,  in  Paris : 

"My   ambassador  announces   to   me   the   death  of 

41 


•' 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

Marshal  Canrobert.  With  all  my  heart  I  and  my 
guard  corps  sorrow  at  the  death  of  the  heroic  de- 
fender of  St.  Privat,  who  rilled  us  forever  with  ad- 
miration." 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  Kaiser  re- 
ceived the  telegram  of  Lieutenant  Canrobert,  apprising 
him  likewise  of  the  death  of  his  father.  And  to  this 
the  Kaiser  replied : 

"Deeply  moved  by  the  mournful  news  you  com- 
municated, I  must  express  to  you  my  heartfelt  sym- 
pathy. Both  my  late  grandfather  and  father  have 
often  spoken  to  me  of  the  brave  marshal  with  the 
highest  admiration  and  esteem 

"William  I.  R." 

On  January  30th  son  and  son-in-law  together  replied 
as  follows: 

"Marshal  Canrobert  would  have  profoundly  appreciated  the 
sentiments  which  your  Majesty,  also  speaking  for  your  guard 
corps,  has  uttered.  In  their  grief  the  family  of  the  marshal 
send  to  your  Majesty  respectful  assurances  of  their  gratitude." 

Meanwhile,  however,  Casimir  Perier,  in  a  moment  of 
chagrin  at  his  limited  liberty  of  action,  and  at  the 
rather  inconsiderate  procedure  of  the  Dupuy  cabinet, 
had  resigned  the  presidency.  Felix  Faure  succeeded 
him.  Towards  the  end  of  May  the  mouthpieces  of 
the  revanche  idea  in  France  once  more  took  umbrage 
at  a  step  of  the  Kaiser's.  He  had  invited  to  the 
dedicatory  celebration  of  the  opening  of  the  Kiel  Canal, 
which  he  meant  to  turn  into  a  grand  manifestation  in 
favor  of  peace,  representatives  of  the  French  Republic. 
But  the  irreconcilable  Nationalist  wing  bitterly  op- 
posed the  despatching  of  a  French  squadron  to  Kiel. 

42 


THE    KAISER   AND    FRANCE 

They  contended  that  to  accept  this  invitation  would 
be  construed  in  Alsace-Lorraine  as  a  definite  renuncia- 
tion of  the  provinces  lost  in  1 87 1 .  The  French  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  Hanotaux,  however,  demonstrated 
to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  at  the  session  of  May 
31st,  that  France  had  every  reason  to  put  herself  on 
a  good  footing  with  Germany.  He  showed  that  im- 
portant events  were  impending  in  Asia.  England 
and  Japan,  he  claimed,  had  concluded  an  alliance 
whose  ultimate  purpose  was  nothing  less  than  the 
dismemberment  of  China,  and  that  this  would  mean 
the  transference  of  the  huge  far  Asiatic  problem  to 
European  soil.  Then  Russia,  France,  and  Germany 
joined  in  a  common  diplomatic  action  and  raised  a 
strong  protest.  This  joint  action,  in  which  Germany 
and  France,  at  least  in  diplomacy,  were  shoulder  to 
shoulder  for  the  first  time  in  many  years,  had  the 
desired  effect.  This  diplomatic  action  was  beyond 
question  the  most  important  and  far-reaching  event 
of  1895.  Hanotaux  said  he  could  state  with  emphasis 
that  in  this  matter  Germany  had  rendered  France  a 
great  service,  and  that  it  would,  therefore,  be  an  act 
of  folly  and  of  gross  discourtesy  for  France  not  to  ac- 
cept an  invitation  tendered  in  a  spirit  of  international 
politeness.  The  sole  concession  made  by  the  French 
government  to  the  irreconcilables  was  that  the  French 
vessels  were  to  enter  Kiel  harbor  together  with  the 
Russian  ones.  The  former  French  Minister  of  War, 
General  Dubarail,  at  that  time  wrote  in  Le  Gaulois,  and 
Jules  Simon  in  Le  Figaro,  in  favor  of  participating  in 
the  celebration  at  Kiel. 

In  August,  1895,  the  leading  journals  of  Paris  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  opinions  so  far  held  in 
France  relative  to  conditions  in  Alsace-Lorraine  had 
been  based  on  error.  They  pointed  out  that  far  from 
impatiently  waiting  for  France  to  reunite  them  with 

43 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

their  former  country,  the  Alsatians,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
were  quite  satisfied  with  their  new  conditions.  Com- 
merce and  industry  flourished  in  those  provinces  to  an 
unprecedented  degree,  and  the  Germanization  of  the 
conquered  districts  was  proceeding,  they  wrote,  slowly 
but  surely. 

On  June  8,  1896,  the  Kaiser,  hearing  of  the  demise 
of  Jules  Simon,  the  intrepid  and  indefatigable  advocate 
of  reconciliation  between  the  two  countries,  sent  the 
following  despatch  to  the  President  of  the  French 
Republic : 

"France  weeps  again  at  the  grave  of  one  of  her 
great  sons.  Monsieur  Jules  Simon  is  dead.  I  shall 
forever  remain  under  the  charm  of  his  personality, 
when  I  recall  the  days  during  which  he  lent  me  his 
precious  services  for  the  amelioration  of  the  lot  of  the 
laboring  classes.  Accept,  Monsieur  le  President,  the 
assurances  of  my  sincere  sympathy." 

To  this  President  Faure  replied: 

"  France  is  sensible  of  the  sentiments  to  which  your  Majesty 
lends  expression  at  the  death  of  one  of  her  most  distinguished 
sons.  I  beg  your  Majesty  will  accept  the  expression  of  my 
sincere  thanks.  Felix  Faure." 

Another  step  in  the  direction  of  reconciliation  was 
taken  by  the  Kaiser  when  he  informed  France,  through 
the  German  ambassador  in  Paris,  Count  Mimster,  that 
Germany  would  make  a  point  in  taking  part  in  the 
Paris  exposition  of  1900.  This  official  and  formal 
announcement  made  a  vivid  and  lasting  impression  in 
France.  One  of  the  most  significant  signs  of  it  was 
the  address  delivered  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Alsace-Lorraine  Protective  Society,  hitherto  one  of 
the   chief  centres   of  anti-German   spirit  in   France. 

44 


THE   KAISER  AND   PRANCE 

The    principal    orator   on    that    occasion    said,    amid 
tokens  of  general  approval: 

"The  wrath  at  our  defeat  has  gradually  evaporated.  We 
no  longer  hate  the  great  nation  whose  adversary  we  are  com- 
pelled to  be,  and  we  do  not  judge  it  unfairly.  The  strife  be- 
tween France  and  Germany  has  the  ennobling  character  of  a 
strife  between  two  dogmas  and  two  ideals." 

On  May  4,  1897,  fire  broke  out  at  a  charitable  bazaar 
held  in  Paris,  at  which  thirty-four  persons  perished, 
among  them  the  wife  of  the  Due  d'Alencon,  a  sister 
of  the  Empress  Elizabeth  of  Austria.  The  Kaiser 
again  utilized  the  opportunity  furnished  to  express 
his  sympathy  in  a  telegram  to  the  President  of  the 
French  Republic. 

On  May  nth,  a  week  later,  the  Kaiser  sent  the  sum 
of  ten  thousand  marks,  to  be  utilized  for  the  relief  of 
those  poor  who  were  to  have  been  benefited  by  the 
proceeds  of  the  fateful  charity  bazaar. 

In  August,  1897,  President  Faure  visited  the  Czar  in 
Russia,  and  the  amiable  words  employed  by  Nicholas 
II.,  in  a  toast  proposed  in  honor  of  his  guest,  created 
wild  enthusiasm  in  Paris,  so  much  so  that  nondescript 
throngs  created  several  disturbances  in  front  of  the 
German  Embassy  there.  The  police,  however,  soon 
dispersed  these  mobs,  and  soon  after  reliable  news 
reached  Paris  that  the  Russian  government  had  been 
rather  unfavorably  impressed  with  these  street  demon- 
strations against  Germany.  Thereupon  the  latter  com- 
pletely ceased.  They  had  sufficed,  though,  to  show 
that  with  a  certain  part  of  the  French  population,  albeit 
the  minority,  the  slightest  encouragement  sufficed  to 
inflame  anew  the  hatred  of  Germany. 

From  1898  on,  France  became  absorbed  for  several 
years  in  the  Dreyfus  matter,  dividing  the  nation  into 
two  hostile  camps,  and  claiming  the  interest  of  the 
entire  civilized  world.     Of  course,  those  elements  in 

45 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 


France,  both  in  her  army  and  outside  of  it,  who  op- 
posed, as  their  chief  political  dogma,  reconciliation 
with  Germany,  found  this  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
involving  their  late  foe  in  the  case.  Italy,  Russia,  and 
Austria  were  also  named  as  powers  whose  interests  had 
been  drawn  into  the  vortex  of  this  abominable  affair. 
But  it  suited  the  intentions  of  the  powerful  "revanche 
idea"  clique  best  to  make  out  as  strong  a  case  as 
possible  against  Germany  and  the  Kaiser,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  the  latter  and  his  government 
gave  solemn  assurances,  through  the  mouth  of  the 
imperial  chancellor  in  the  Reichstag,  that  they  could 
in  perfect  innocence  wash  their  hands  of  the  whole 
miserable  business.  This  assurance,  however,  was 
only  given  when  the  "psychological  moment"  had 
arrived,  and  after  a  network  of  legends  and  myths  had 
been  spread  throughout  France  coupling  the  Kaiser's 
name  with  that  of  Dreyfus. 

It  was  at  that  time  stated,  with  more  or  less  plausi- 
bility, that  Germany  it  was  to  whom  Dreyfus  had  sold 
his  alleged  military  secrets,  and  during  the  last  phase 
of  the  trial  the  person  of  the  Kaiser  became  directly 
implicated  on  certain  pieces  of  evidence  to  the  effect 
that  suspicious  scraps  of  the  Kaiser's  handwriting, 
commenting  on  the  Dreyfus  case,  and,  by  innuendo, 
showing  past  relations  with  Dreyfus,  had  been  picked 
up  in  the  waste-basket  near  the  Kaiser's  desk  in  the 
New  Palace,  Potsdam.1 


1  Internal  evidence  alone  show- 
ed to  anybody  familiar  with  the 
Kaiser's  vigorous,  though  eccen- 
tric, handwriting,  and  with  the 
topography  of  and  the  regula- 
tions governing  visitors  to  the 
New  Palace,  how  impossible  it 
was  that  this  portion  of  the  evi- 
dence adduced  against  Dreyfus 
could  be  true.     The  handwriting 


produced  at  the  trial  showed  a 
radical  divergence  in  essential  re- 
spects from  that  of  the  Kaiser. 
Besides  that,  though,  nobody  but 
an  idiot  would  have  thrown  such 
a  treacherous  piece  of  writing  in 
a  waste-basket  whose  contents 
the  next  morning  would  be  free  to 
the  world.  And  a  third  clincher: 
at   the   time  mentioned   by  the 


46 


THE    KAISER   AND   FRANCE 

Unquestionably,  it  was  a  strong  proof  of  the  mueh 
better  relations  meanwhile  established  between  the 
two  countries,  and  of  the  powerlessness  of  the  Ger- 
manophobe  minority  in  France  to  imbitter  anew  and 
permanently  these  relations,  that,  even  at  a  time  when 
partisan  feeling  was  seething,  these  systematic  attempts 
to  connect  Germany  with  the  Dreyfus  case  proved 
abortive  and  led  to  no  serious  ebullitions  of  anti-Ger- 
man sentiment. 

In  July  of  that  year  (1898)  the  French  navy  met 
with  a  calamity.  The  Bourgogne  went  down,  and  the 
Kaiser  sent  from  his  Hohenzollern,  on  board  of  which 
he  was  just  then  pursuing  his  annual  midsummer  trip 
to  the  Scandinavian  north,  a  telegram  of  condolence 
to  the  President  of  France. 

During  the  last  part  of  1898  several  significant 
signs  made  their  appearance.  Duvignet,  a  well-known 
French  publicist,  who  had  all  along  been  a  grim  foe  to 
reconciliation,  changed  his  tune  completely,  and  in  his 
influential  paper,  L'Autorite,  went  the  lengths  of  coun- 
selling a  better  understanding  with  Germany,  "even  if 
renunciation  of  Alsace-Lorraine  should  have  to  be  final." 
In  a  second  article,  on  December  18th,  Duvignet  him- 
self declared  that  it  afforded  him  great  gratification 
to  be  able  to  say  that  his  bold  attitude  had  brought 
him  "  from  every  side  the  approval  of  his  readers,  even 
from  stern  patriots."  Another  noted  writer,  Lemaitre, 
in  the  Echo  de  Paris,  likewise  advocated  the  same  plan 
in  an  able  manner. 

A  few  weeks  later,  in  January,  1899,  the  Kaiser  was 
suffering  from  a  cold  and  was  unable  to  hold  personally 
the  regular  New  Year's  reception  at  the  castle  in  Ber- 
lin. The  President  of  the  French  Republic  immediately 
requested  the  ambassador  in  Berlin  to  make  personal 

witnesses  at  the  trial  the  Kaiser  I  Palace  at  all,  but  was  off  on  his 
was    not    staying    at    the    New  I  Northern  summer  trip. — Ed. 

47 


THE    KAISERfS   SPEECHES 

inquiries  about  the  Kaiser's  health.  The  monarch, 
after  his  recovery,  on  January  ioth,  reciprocated  this 
courtesy  by  paying  a  call  on  the  French  ambas- 
sador. 

When  President  Faure  died  suddenly,  from  an  apo- 
plectic fit,  the  German  Emperor  again  came  quickly  to 
the  front,  and  on  February  18th  wired  to  the  widow, 
Madame  Faure,  as  follows : 

"Greatly  saddened  by  the  news  of  the  death  of 
your  husband,  the  President  of  the  French  Republic,  I 
hasten  to  assure  you  how  sincerely  I  mourn  with  you 
your  terrible  loss.  The  Empress  joins  me  in  heartfelt 
wishes  that  the  Almighty  God  will  give  you  strength 
to  bear  the  sorrow  now  bowing  you  down. 

"William  I.  R." 

To  attend  the  funeral  of  President  Faure,  the  Kaiser 
sent  to  Paris  five  representatives  —  among  them  his 
adjutant-general,  Prince  Anton  Radziwill,  and  one  of 
his  highest  court  officials,  Count  Wedel.  The  papers 
there  spoke  in  a  very  sympathetic  tone  of  the  honor 
thus  conferred  on  the  defunct  chief  of  the  nation. 

On  July  6th  of  the  same  year  another  incident 
occurred  which  testified  very  plainly  to  the  steadily  im- 
proving relations  between  the  two  countries.  Steam- 
ing with  his  yacht,  the  Hohenzollern,  into  the  road- 
stead of  Bergen,  Norway,  that  being  one  of  the  first 
points  on  his  regular  midsummer  recreation  itinerary, 
he  found  there  awaiting  him  the  German  school-ship 
Gneisenau  and  the  French  school-ship  Iphigenie.  The 
latter,  of  course,  had  been  ordered  there  by  previous 
arrangement  with  the  French  government,  just  as 
much  as  the  German  vessel  had  obeyed  the  Berlin 
authorities  in  meeting  the  French  vessel  there.  It  is 
well  to  state  explicitly  this  fact  here,  because  it  was 

48 


THE   KAISER   AND   FRANCE 

denied  at  the  time,  for  obvious  reasons,  by  some  of  the 
French  as  well  as  Russian  papers. 

The  Kaiser,  attired  in  an  admiral's  fatigue  uniform, 
paid  a  visit  on  board  the  French  vessel.  He  shook  hands 
with  each  of  the  French  officers,  thoroughly  inspected 
and  overhauled  the  ship  in  every  quarter,  made  himself 
personally  acquainted  with  the  entire  crew,  and  then 
extended  a  cordial  invitation  to  the  French  "middies" 
to  pay  him  a  visit  on  board  the  Hohenzollern. 

Immediately  thereafter  the  Kaiser  addressed  a  tele- 
gram to  President  Loubet,  saying: 

"  I  have  had  the  pleasure  to  see,  on  board  the 
school-ship  Iphigenie,  young  French  mariners  whose 
soldierly  and  sympathetic  bearing,  worthy  of  their 
noble  country,  has  made  a  vivid  impression  upon  me. 
As  a  mariner  and  comrade,  my  heart  was  gladdened 
by  the  amiable  reception  accorded  me  by  the  com- 
mander, the  officers,  and  the  crew.  I  congratulate 
you,  Monsieur  le  President,  upon  the  happy  chance 
afforded  me  to  become  acquainted  both  with  the 
Iphigenie  and  your  amiable  compatriots. 

"William." 

The  answer  by  President  Loubet  was  to  the  follow- 
ing effect: 

"  I  am  greatly  touched  by  the  telegram  which  your  Imperial 
Majesty  has  addressed  to  me  after  a  visit  on  board  the  school- 
ship  Iphigenie,  and  I  must  thank  your  Majesty  for  the  honors 
shown  our  naval  men,  and  for  the  words  in  which  your  Majesty 
had  the  kindness  to  describe  the  impression  which  this  visit 
had  left.  Loubet." 

On  July  7th  some  sixty  cadets  and  all  the  officers  of 
the  Iphigenie  paid  a  visit  on  board  the  Hohenzollern, 
off  Bergen.     Paris  papers  reported  about  this  visit : 
4  49 


THE    KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

"The  Emperor,  again  in  fatigue  uniform,  with  his  cloak 
reaching  below  the  knees,  behaved  with  the  most  charming 
amiability.  He  saluted  his  guests:  'Here  are  your  comrades! 
There  are  ten  of  them  who  speak  French.  As  for  the  others, 
you'll  have  to  try  and  get  along  with  one  another  somehow.' 
Then  sandwiches  and  various  refreshing  beverages  were  dis- 
tributed." 

The  report  winds  up  by  saying: 

"Everything  considered,  we  behaved  correctly.  The  ice  is 
too  thick  to  melt  at  the  first  rays  of  the  sun." 

The  Paris  press  at  this  time,  too,  recurred  extensively 
to  the  many  previous  testimonials  of  sympathy  shown 
by  the  Kaiser  for  France.  They  pointed  out  Ger- 
many's fair  dealing  in  all  colonial  questions  touching 
French  interests.  They  spoke  of  the  guarantee  fur- 
nished by  the  Kaiser  that  the  coming  great  exposition 
would  see  Germany  splendidly  represented,  an  example 
which  other  nations  would  be  sure  to  follow.  And  they 
also  began  to  discuss  the  problem  whether  the  Kaiser 
would  visit  the  exposition  personally.  The  number  of 
French  papers  advocating  a  neighborly  understanding 
with  Germany  increased  steadily.  Several  of  them 
even  went  the  length  of  proposing  an  alliance  with  the 
late  foe,  at  least  so  far  as  common  interests  in  colonial 
and  far  Asiatic  questions  were  concerned.  Even  in- 
fluential Russian  journals  expressed  satisfaction  at 
this  Franco  -  German  rapprochement,  and  stated  that 
Czar  Nicholas  had  repeatedly  given  expression  to  his 
joy  at  the  growing  friendliness  between  the  two  coun- 
tries. 

On  August  1 8,  1899,  Emperor  William  was  present 
at  the  dedication  of  the  monument  erected  on  the 
battle-field  of  St.  Privat  in  honor  of  the  1st  Prussian 
Foot  Guards,  and  made  a  speech  on  this  occasion,  in 
which  occurred  the  following  significant  passage: 

50 


THE    KAISER   AND   FRANCE 

"...  The  form  chosen  for  this  monument  differs  from 
that  usually  seen  on  battle  -  fields.  The  armor  -  clad 
angel1  reclines,  peacefully  resting  on  his  sword,  em- 
bellished with  the  proud  motto  of  the  regiment:  Sem- 
per talis.  It  is,  therefore,  my  will  that  this  figure  be 
interpreted  in  a  symbolical  way.  The  figure  stands 
on  this  blood-soaked  field  like  unto  a  guardian  and 
sentinel  for  all  the  fearless  soldiers  of  both  armies  who 
fell  here,  both  on  the  French  side  and  on  the  German. 
For  the  French  soldiers,  too,  fighting  here  bravely  and 
heroically  for  their  emperor  and  their  country,  sank 
into  a  glorious  grave.  When  our  flags  will  bow  in 
salute  before  the  bronze  statue  and  mournfully  rustle 
over  the  graves  of  our  dear  comrades,  they  will  at  the 
same  time  wave  over  the  last  resting-places  of  our  ad- 
versaries, whispering  to  them  that  we  think  of  their 
courageous  dead  with  melancholy  respect.  ..." 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  this  address,  magnani- 
mous in  its  spirit  towards  a  proud  but  vanquished  foe, 
should  be  received  with  sympathy  in  France,  and  the 
Russian  press,  too,  commented  on  it  with  approval. 

The  year  1900  saw  France  and  Germany  fight  to- 
gether in  China,  under  the  chief  command  of  a  German 
field-marshal,  and  jointly  with  the  other  powers. 

At  the  beginning  of  1901  Count  Munster  retired,  be- 
cause of  increasing  feebleness  of  age,  from  his  post  as 
German  ambassador  in  Paris.  Prince  Radolin  was  his 
successor,  and  on  March  2d  President  Loubet  formally 
received  him.  In  submitting  his  credentials,  the  new 
ambassador  said,  among  other  things: 

"  My  sovereign  has  intrusted  to  me  the  task,  in  charging  me 
with  this  high  mission,  of  maintaining  and  still  further  im- 

1  St.  Michael,  the  traditional  guardian  and  patron  of  Germany. 
—Ed. 

51 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

proving  those  good  relations  now  existing  in  the  happiest 
manner  between  the  two  countries.  I  beg  Monsieur  le  Presi- 
dent to  believe  me  when  I  say  that  my  most  earnest  efforts 
will  be  directed  towards  this  goal,  and  that  I  shall  feel  a  lively 
satisfaction  in  fulfilling  a  task  which  so  entirely  accords  with 
my  personal  sentiments,  in  making  myself  the  frank  and  faith- 
ful interpreter  of  the  good  intentions  of  my  august  sovereign." 

To  this  President  Loubet  replied  in  a  similar  vein, 
assuring  the  ambassador  that  "our  aims  and  inten- 
tions correspond  with  those  of  the  Emperor." 

In  May  of  the  same  year  two  distinguished  French 
officers,  General  Bonnal  and  his  aide-de-camp,  came  to 
Berlin,  following  an  invitation  extended  to  them  by  the 
Kaiser  during  the  Russian  manoeuvres.  The  Kaiser 
showed  his  French  guests  marked  attention.  At  his 
invitation  they  witnessed  the  brigade  drills  held  an- 
nually in  memory  of  his  late  father,  Emperor  Frederick, 
occurring  on  May  29th.  Afterwards  the  two  French- 
men attended  a  luncheon  given  them  by  the  2d  Foot 
Guards,  at  their  barracks.  The  Kaiser  spoke  on  this 
occasion  as  follows : 

"Fill  your  glasses,  gentlemen!  I  am  happy  to  in- 
form you  that  peace  has  been  concluded  in  the  far 
East,  and  that  the  troops  may  be  withdrawn.  Among 
the  many  acknowledgments  and  thanks  which  I  have 
received,  there  is  one  which  the  Czar  of  Russia  sent 
me  personally  to-day,  and  which  says : '  For  services  in 
China  I  render  hearty  thanks  to  your  Majesty.  Count 
Waldersee  has  conducted  a  difficult  and  thankless  mis- 
sion with  dignity  and  skill.  I  testify  my  fullest  sym- 
pathy.' 

"The  brigade  has  been  specially  honored  to-day  in 
being  able  to  welcome  two  officers  of  the  French  army 
in  its  midst.  This  is  the  first  time,  just  as  it  was  the 
first  time  that  French  and  German  troops  have  fought 

52 


THE    KAISER   AND   FRANCE 

shoulder  to  shoulder  against  a  common  foe,  as  good 
and  faithful  brothers-in-arms  and  comrades.  Gentle- 
men, these  two  officers  and  the  army  to  which  they  be- 
long— Hurrah !     Hurrah !     Hurrah !' ' 

Whereupon  General  Bonnal,  in  French,  and  in  a  very 
cordial  and  polite  way,  thanked  the  Kaiser  for  all  his 
courtesies,  for  being  permitted  to  witness  that  memo- 
rable brigade  drill,  and  for  the  many  pleasant  atten- 
tions shown  him  by  the  German  officers.  He  concluded 
his  remarks  by  poising  his  glass  in  air  and  shouting, 
"  Gentlemen,  I  give  you  the  German  army  and  its  sol- 
dier-emperor— may  they  both  live  and  prosper!" 

Lately,  too,  several  distinguished  French  persons  of 
both  sexes  have  been  guests  of  the  Kaiser  and  his 
spouse.  On  their  return  they  have  described  in  the 
Paris  press  their  conversations  with  that  monarch, 
their  experiences  and  observations  in  Germany.  A 
number  of  French  artists  have  exhibited  with  great 
success  in  Germany.  French  opera  and  theatrical  com- 
panies have  played  in  Berlin  and  other  German  cities, 
and  German  companies  in  Paris.  Even  Sarah  Bern- 
hardt came  and  played  with  her  company,  and  the 
Kaiser  treated  her  with  distinction. 

After  the  eruption  of  Mont  Pelee,  and  the  incidental 
catastrophe  in  Martinique,  last  May,  there  was  another 
interchange  of  telegrams  between  the  Kaiser  and  Presi- 
dent Loubet,  and  these  were  couched  in  very  cordial 
terms.  The  Kaiser  also  sent  a  large  sum  for  the  relief 
of  the  Martinique  sufferers. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  the  visit  which  President 
Loubet  made  in  St.  Petersburg  last  year,  the  loudly 
proclaimed  assurances  of  friendship  between  France 
and  Russia,  and  the  subsequent  renewal  of  the  Dual 
Alliance  in  formal  terms,  which  was  made  in  July,  1902, 
and  simultaneouly  published,  came  and  went  without 

53 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

creating  any  sensation  in  the  political  world.  Far 
from  being  any  longer  regarded  as  federations  of  pro- 
nouncedly aggressive  tendency,  both  the  Triple  and 
the  Dual  Alliance  are  now  deemed  the  chief  guarantees 
for  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  pleasant  relations  on 
the  continent  of  Europe.  In  Germany,  where  at  first 
the  close  entente  and  subsequently  the  formal  alliance 
between  France  and  Russia  had  been  viewed  as  a  con- 
dition fraught  with  menace,  the  belief  has  now  gained 
a  firm  footing  that  it  means,  on  the  contrary,  an  ar- 
rangement admirably  preserving  the  political  and  mil- 
itary equilibrium,  and  is,  therefore,  calculated  to  sub- 
serve Germany's  own  best  interests. 

Thus,  so  far  as  the  Kaiser's  official  acts  and  utter- 
ances go,  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  he  has 
striven  honestly,  ever  since  he  ascended  the  throne,  to 
effect  a  gradual  reconciliation  with  France.  And  it 
must  be  confessed  that  his  ways  and  methods  in  this, 
theatrical  as  some  of  them  may  strike  us,  have  in  the 
main  suited  their  purpose. 

It  is  stated,  however,  in  the  entourage  of  the  Kaiser, 
that  his  private  opinion  of  the  French  is  far  from  flat- 
tering to  Gallic  self-love.  While  still  plain  Prince 
William,  and  with  no  expectations  of  attaining  to  the 
throne  for  many  years  to  come,  it  is  said  that  he  once 
taunted,  at  a  court  dinner,  the  then  French  ambassador 
to  Berlin,  Count  Gontaut-Biron,  in  a  semi-jocular  man- 
ner, with  Voltaire's  sarcastic  characterization  of  his 
own  countrymen,  "half  tiger,  half  monkey."  And  it 
is  further  reported  of  him  that  he  it  was  who  induced 
old  Field-marshal  von  Wrangell  to  play  that  horrid 
joke  on  the  same  French  ambassador — viz.,  mounting, 
unknown  to  the  occupants,  a  new  weather-vane  on  the 
roof  of  the  embassy  building,  which  bore  the  shape  of 
one  of  those  dreaded  Prussian  uhlans,  with  lance  thrust 
out. 

54 


Ill 

THE  KAISER  AND  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

Clear  recognition  of  the  necessity  of  re-establishing  religious 
harmony  in  the  empire — Interesting  letters  to  Cardinal  Ho- 
henlohe  —  His  first  interview  with  the  Pope  —  Patriotic  ad- 
dresses to  new  German  Catholic  Church  dignitaries — Corre- 
spondence with  the  Roman  Pontiff — Second  meeting  with 
Leo  XIII. — Gift  of  the  Dormition  in  Palestine  to  the  Ger- 
man Catholics — The  Kaiser's  mention  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  of 
a  papal  utterance  regarding  himself. 

In  his  throne  speech,  on  opening  the  Prussian  Diet, 
twelve  days  after  his  accession,  the  Kaiser,  in  his  capac- 
ity as  King  of  Prussia,  dwelt  with  particular  emphasis 
upon  his  earnest  desire  to  maintain  good  relations  with 
his  Catholic  subjects1  and  with  the  whole  Catholic 
hierarchy — in  particular,  too,  with  the  Roman  Pontiff. 
He  had  promised  to  protect  Catholics  in  the  untram- 
melled exercise  of  their  religious  practices.  To  do  this 
was,  indeed,  a  matter  of  the  utmost  concern  to  him,  as 
the  Culturkampf— that  bitter  struggle  between  the 
Prussian  authority  of  the  state  and  the  Catholic  priest- 
hood, from  the  lowest  vicar  to  the  sovereign  head  of 
the  Church  in  Rome — had  waged  fiercely  for  over  a 
decade,  Bismarck  having  vainly  spent  even  his  in- 
domitable energy  in  trying  to  score  final  victory.  The 
state  had  been  utterly  vanquished  and  routed,  and  as 


1  The  Catholic  population  of 
Prussia  numbers,  according  to 
the  last  official  census  of  1900, 


over  12,000,000,  out  of  a  total  of 
34,000,000,  therefore  slightly  ex- 
ceeding one-third. — Ed. 

55 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

residuum  had  been  left  an  embittered  sentiment  spread 
throughout  the  Catholic  population  of  Prussia,  and  in  a 
minor  degree  of  Bavaria  as  well.  To  regain  the  affec- 
tion and  the  full  loyalty  of  his  Catholic  subjects  be- 
came, therefore,  from  his  accession,  one  of  the  chief 
and  most  persistent  and  unbending  efforts  of  Emperor 
William,  and  to  this  policy  of  reconciliation  he  has,  in- 
deed, adhered  with  a  steadfastness  which  in  a  man  of 
his  impulsive  nature  seems  all  the  more  surprising. 

Even  while  still  plain  Prince  William,  he  had  felt  the 
overweening  importance  of  this  task  of  reconquering 
the  love  and  confidence  of  his  future  Catholic  subjects, 
and  had  taken  pains  to  become  personally  acquainted 
with  most  of  the  leaders  of  Catholic  thought  in  Ger- 
many. Thus  he  had  come  to  know  not  only  the  par- 
liamentary champions  of  the  Catholic  cause— in  other 
words,  the  spokesmen  of  the  Centre,  or  Ultramontane, 
party  in  Reichstag  and  Diet,  but  also  the  princes  of  the 
Church  in  Germany.  With  Cardinal  Prince  Hohen- 
lohe1  in  Rome,  a  man  of  undoubted  patriotism  and 
head  of  the  Germanophile  party  at  the  Vatican,  the 
young  prince  was  on  particularly  good  terms.  In 
January,  1887,  seventeen  months  before  Prince  Will- 
iam, in  quick  succession,  had  seen  both  his  grand- 
father and  father  sink  into  the  grave,  he  wrote  a  letter 
to  Cardinal  Hohenlohe,  in  which  he  mentions  that  he 
had  recently  had  occasion  to  meet  and  gain  the  friend- 
ship of  some  of  the  best  and  shrewdest  men  belonging 
to  the  Catholic  clergy  in  Germany.  He  speaks  of  con- 
versations had  with  them,  and  then  continues: 

"There  is,  above  all,  Kopp.2  What  a  simple, 
shrewd,  naively  German  nature!     I  wish  with  all  my 


1  A  cousin  of  that  Hohenlohe 
whom  the  Kaiser  made  imperial 
chancellor  in  the  fall  of  1 894. — Ed. 


a  This  prelate  is  now  Prince 
Bishop  of  Breslau  and  a  cardinal. 
—Ed. 


56 


THE    KAISER   AND    THE   CATHOLIC    CHURCH 

heart  that  this  man  may  be  left  us  for  many  years, 
and  that  we  shall  have  many  like  him.  The  same 
remark  applies  to  Dr.  Thiel,  the  bishop  in  East  Prussia, 
and  to  the  Bishop  of  Metz,  who,  though  speaking 
French,  said  to  me:  'Je  suis  et  resterai  un  eveque 
allemand.'  .  .  .  All  these  are  men  who  have  fathomed 
their  time  and  who  have  a  wide  horizon.  May  they 
soon  gain  a  paramount  influence  upon  their  flocks. 
But  the  Centre! — the  Centre!  If  the  Pope  doesn't 
soon  gird  up  his  tunic  and  begin  to  talk  in  earnest  to 
the  Centre,  then — " 

In  another  letter,  of  April  i,  1887,  the  young  prince, 
then  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  writes  to  the  same 
personage : 

"Galimberti  has  pleased  everybody  here  (in  Berlin), 
and  what  he  said,  too,  has  made  a  good  impression. 
I  am  immeasurably  glad  that  this  baleful  Cultur- 
kampf  is  at  last  over.  The  other  day  some  of  our 
prominent  Catholics,  among  them  Kopp  and  others, 
came  to  me  and  honored  me  with  their  full  confidence, 
which  I  felt  as  a  real  blessing.  Several  times,  too,  I  was 
able  to  act  as  interpreter  of  their  wishes  and  to  do  them 
some  slight  favors,  thus  giving  me  a  chance  to  em- 
ploy my  insignificant  strength  and  gifts  in  behalf  of 
restoring  peace  between  the  two  parts  of  the  popula- 
tion. This  gave  me  veritable  joy,  and  I  feel  happy. 
My  greetings  to  Galimberti,  and  my  devotion  to  the 
Pope." 

The  task  which  William,  while  still  uncrowned,  thus 
began  to  set  himself,  was,  however,  not  only  dictated 
by  a  desire  for  harmony  in  Prussia  itself,  but  weighty 
motives  of  international  policy  entered  into  it.  The 
Roman  Curia  showed  leanings  towards  the  federation 

57 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

between  Russia  and  France,  then  in  process  of  forma- 
tion, and  at  that  time  the  special  bete  noire  of  German 
state-craft.  In  lieu  of  the  Papacy's  strained  relations 
with  Russia,  which  had  subsisted  for  so  many  years 
because  of  the  Polish  and  other  questions,  it  was  very 
evident  that  quite  amicable  relations  were  slowly  be- 
ing substituted.  And  instead  of  longer  favoring  all  or 
any  of  the  pretenders  to  the  French  throne,  the  Vati- 
can showed  growing  favor  to  the  republic.  If  the  Pope 
really  should  become  the  third  ally,  beside  France  and 
Russia,  it  was  plain  that  Germany  would  have  to 
suffer.  For  as  long  as  harmonious  internal  relations 
with  her  Catholic  population  had  not  been  re-establish- 
ed, Germany  would  have  the  enemy,  so  to  speak,  in  her 
own  camp. 

The  Kaiser,  therefore,  did  not  allow  the  grass  to 
grow  under  his  feet  after  his  accession,  but  undertook, 
in  October,  1888,  a  journey  to  Rome,  not  alone  to 
visit  his  ally,  King  Humbert  of  Italy,  but  also  the 
head  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

He  paid  all  honor  to  Leo  XIII.  at  the  Vatican,  and 
during  a  long  and  intimate  conversation  knew  how  to 
impress  his  Holiness  with  his  earnest  wish  to  re-estab- 
lish once  more  close  and  friendly  relations  between 
the  temporal  and  the  spiritual  power.  Subsequent 
events  showed  that  in  so  doing  he  had  vitally  pro- 
moted the  object  in  view. 

After  a  luncheon  served  at  the  house  of  the  Prus- 
sian minister  to  the  Vatican,  Baron  von  Schlozer,  at 
which  Cardinals  Rampolla  and  Prince  Hohenlohe  par- 
ticipated, the  Kaiser  drove  to  the  Vatican,  accom- 
panied by  his  brother — Prince  Henry — Count  Herbert 
Bismarck,  and  all  the  more  important  members  of 
his  large  suite.  After  a  long  interview  with  the  Pope, 
at  which  nobody  else  was  present,  Prince  Henry,  too, 
was  received  by  the  Pontiff  in  privacy. 

58 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE  CATHOLIC   CHURCH 

The  Centre  press  in  Germany  represented  this  visit 
as  an  insult  to  the  Pope,  inasmuch  as  the  Kaiser  had, 
immediately  after  his  visit  to  the  Vatican,  referred 
in  his  toast  at  the  banquet  given  him  by  the  King  at 
the  Quirinal  to  the  latter's  "royal  capital  city."  By 
doing  this,  it  was  contended  by  the  Irredentist  Centre 
press,  "more  papal  than  the  Pope  himself,"  the  Kaiser 
had  sanctioned  the  "land  robbery  perpetrated  by  the 
Savoyan  dynasty  upon  the  Pontiff."  However,  even 
in  the  non-Catholic  and  anti-Catholic  circles  of  Ger- 
many, much  dissatisfaction  was  expressed  at  this 
friendly  meeting  between  Kaiser  and  Pope. 

On  November  7,  1888,  the  Kaiser  published  a  decree 
in  answer  to  the  address  of  loyalty  by  the  German 
Catholic  bishops  on  August  29th.  In  this  and  in  the 
separate  personal  letters  of  thanks  to  the  archbishop 
of  Cologne  and  others,  he  again  spoke  in  a  very  con- 
ciliatory mood.  In  February,  1889,  the  newly  ap- 
pointed Bishop  Assmann  acknowledged  publicly  in 
his  encyclical  his  and  the  Pope's  gratification  at  the 
newly  evinced  spirit  of  good-will  shown  by  the  Kaiser 
and  the  temporal  authorities. 

In  a  letter  to  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  dated  March  8,  1890, 
the  Kaiser  apprises  him  of  the  impending  interna- 
tional congress,  summoned  by  the  Kaiser,  for  the 
amelioration  of  the  working-people's  lot,  and  in  flat- 
tering terms  bespeaks  the  sympathy  and  co  -  opera- 
tion of  his  Holiness  for  the  enterprise. 

The  Pope  replied  in  cordial  terms  of  approval  and 
encouragement,  and  pleasantly  acknowledged  the  high 
compliment  paid  him  by  the  Kaiser's  appointment  of 
Cardinal  Prince  Bishop  Kopp,  of  Breslau,  as  the  im- 
perial delegate  to  the  congress. 

The  Centre  party,  too,  gradually  shaped  its  policy 
—for  years  almost  frankly  Ultramontane  and  un- 
patriotic— to  meet  altered  conditions.     The  personal 

59 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 


visit  the  Kaiser  paid  to  the  sick-bed  of  Windthorst,  the 
Centre's  ablest  leader,  won  him  many  adherents  in 
that  party.  And  on  Windthorst's  death,  soon  after, 
he  showed  again  great  consideration.  To  the  funeral, 
and  to  the  solemn  requiem  mass  in  the  church  of  St. 
Hedwiga,  in  Berlin,  the  Kaiser  sent  special  representa- 
tives. 

In  November,  1891,  the  new  archbishop  of  the 
Polish  provinces  in  Prussia,  Florian  Stablevski,  was 
inducted  into  his  see.  This  dignitary  had  publicly 
spoken  in  a  way  to  convince  the  Kaiser  of  his  loyalty 
to  the  crown,  and  had  been  proposed  to  the  Roman 
Curia  for  the  important  post.  When  Stablevski,  on  Jan- 
uary 12,  1892,  personally  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  Emperor  at  the  royal  castle  in  Berlin,  the  Kaiser 
expressed  the  utmost  confidence  in  his  fairness  and  the 
purity  of  his  intentions.1 

On  the  occasion  of  Leo  XIII. 's  fiftieth  anniversary 
as  bishop,  the  Kaiser  sent  General  von  Loe,  a  leading 
personage  in  German  Catholic  circles,  as  his  special 
legate,  handing  the  Pontiff  a  costly  and  artistically 
embellished  mitre  as  an  imperial  gift. 

But  a  few  weeks  later,  on  April  23d,  the  Kaiser  paid 
a  second  visit  to  the  Pope.  This  time  he  was  accom- 
panied by  the  Empress,  and  the  meeting  was  a  much 
more  intimate  and  cordial  one  than  in  1888.  This 
time,  too,  the  Kaiser  had  a  one-hour's  conversation 
after  everybody  else  had  gone.  The  papal  Secretary 
of  State,  Rampolla,  received  from  the  Kaiser  the  high- 
est Prussian  decoration,  the  order  of  the  Black  Eagle. 

On    September    3,    1893,    the    Kaiser,    during    the 


'The  preceding  archbishop, 
Cardinal  von  Ledochowski,  had 
been  thrown  into  jail,  during  the 
Culturkampf ,  and  had  been  sum- 
moned, after  his  final  liberation, 


to  Rome,  where  he  played  a  very- 
important  part  until  his  death,  in 
shaping  the  papal  policy  and  in 
exerting  an  anti-German  influence 
in  the  Cardinals'  College. — Ed. 


60 


THE   KAISER   AND   THE   CATHOLIC   CHURCH 

autumnal  army  manoeuvres,  came  to  Metz,  where 
Bishop  Fleck  addressed  the  monarch  at  some  length, 
saying,  among  other  things:  "May  your  Majesty  not 
judge  us  by  the  reports  spread  in  hostile  journals,  but 
rather  by  our  actions.  Our  efforts  are  directed  tow- 
ards the  preservation  of  a  religious  spirit  and  of 
morality,  and  against  those  subversive  teachings  which 
threaten  society's  very  existence.  .  .  .  Thus  we  hope 
to  make  ourselves  useful  to  the  German  Empire,  ac- 
cording to  the  measure  of  our  strength,  and  to  find 
your  Majesty's  approval." 

The  Kaiser  thereupon  replied  in  a  very  gratified 
manner,  incidentally  mentioning  the  substance  of  his 
last  earnest  conversation  with  the  Pope — viz.,  the  great 
need  of  fostering  the  religious  and  devout  spirit,  and 
that  it  had  given  him  sincere  joy  to  see  that  in  this 
matter,  one  of  greatest  moment  in  this  age  of  unbelief 
and  scepticism,  his  own  views  tallied  so  completely 
with  those  of  his  Holiness. 

Prince  Henry  of  Prussia,  the  Kaiser's  brother,  was 
received  by  the  Pope  on  March  7,  1894.  On  April  16th 
following,  the  Reichstag  passed  a  resolution  rescinding 
the  order  of  expulsion  aimed  at  the  Jesuits  during  the 
heat  of  the  Culturkampf,  and  thereby  added  another 
item  to  the  re-establishment  of  religious  harmony  in 
the  empire.  The  Bundesrath,  however,  subsequently 
rejected  this  resolution,  although  Bavaria  on  her  own 
account  greatly  modified  the  stringency  of  the  original 
order. 

At  the  death  of  another  noted  leader  of  the  Centre, 
von  Schorlemer-Alst,  on  March  18,  1895,  the  Kaiser 
sent  a  carefully  phrased  telegram  of  condolence.  On 
May  19,  1897,  the  Kaiser  inspected,  in  the  Rhine  coun- 
try, the  famous  Benedictine  abbey  of  Maria  Laach, 
which  had  been  restored  largely  at  his  own  expense. 
The  abbot,  Dr.  Benzler,  in  an  address  rendered  thanks. 

61 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

The  next  year,  1898,  during  the  Palestine  journey 
undertaken  by  the  imperial  couple,  the  Kaiser  showed 
a  number  of  attentions  to  the  German  Catholics,  the 
Roman  Curia,  and  the  Pope. 

When  he  and  his  consort  landed  at  Haifa,  in  Palestine, 
on  October  26th,  he  replied  to  an  address  by  Father 
Biever,  the  director  of  the  German  Catholic  settlement 
there,  assuring  him  and  German  Catholics  everywhere 
of  his  protection  and  good- will. 

The  Sultan  of  Turkey  had  made  a  personal  gift  to 
the  Kaiser  of  that  piece  of  land  in  Jerusalem  known  to 
tradition  as  La  Dormition  de  la  Sainte  Vierge,  and  on 
which,  according  to  a  Catholic  legend,  the  Holy  Virgin 
dwelt.  This  gift,  with  sufficient  funds  added  from  his 
own  purse  to  erect  thereon  suitable  buildings,  the  Kai- 
ser, on  his  arrival  in  Jerusalem,  turned  over  to  the  Ger- 
man Catholic  Society  of  the  Holy  Land.  He  sent  the 
Pope  a  telegram  informing  him  of  this  fact,  and  the 
Pope  replied  in  an  appreciative  vein.  He  also  wired  to 
the  same  effect  to  the  president  of  the  aforementioned 
society  in  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Jansen. 

A  few  days  later,  on  October  31,  1898  (after  the  ded- 
ication of  the  new  Protestant  Church  of  the  Saviour), 
the  Kaiser  personally  inaugurated  the  taking  possession 
of  the  Dormition  by  the  Latin  patriarch  of  Jerusalem, 
and  in  the  presence  of  Catholic  clergy  and  a  detach- 
ment of  German  marines  from  the  iron-clad  cruiser 
Hertha,  who  hoisted  the  German  and  the  imperial  flags 
over  it. 

This  whole  incident  and  its  attendant  circum- 
stances greatly  pleased  the  Catholic  population  of 
Germany,  and  made  a  vivid  and  lasting  impression  on 
them. 

The  imperial  couple  paid,  likewise,  a  visit  to  the  new 
German  Catholic  Hospice  in  Jerusalem,  where  they 
were  received  by  its  director,   Father  Schmidt,   and 

62 


THE    KAISER   AND   THE   CATHOLIC   CHURCH 

which  was  liberally  endowed  by  them.  In  answering 
the  welcoming  speech  by  the  director,  the  Kaiser  also 
referred  to  the  mission  on  which  he  had  just  then  sent 
his  brother  Henry,  saying:  "My  brother  is  now  away 
with  the  iron-clad  power  of  my  ships,1  whose  flag  here 
waves  protectingly  over  your  heads,  to  shield  your 
brethren  who,  in  the  far  East,  are  risking  their  life- 
blood  for  their  Saviour." 

When,  on  October  23,  1899,  the  newly  elected  arch- 
bishop of  Cologne,  Simar,  took  the  solemn  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  his  temporal  sovereign,  at  Berlin  Castle,  the 
Kaiser,  in  an  impressive  speech,  admonished  him  to  do 
his  share  towards  educating  the  growing  generation  in 
his  archdiocese  to  be  good  subjects  as  well  as  Chris- 
tians. 

On  Pope  Leo's  ninetieth  birthday — March  2,  1900 — 
there  was  another  pleasant  interchange  of  despatches 
between  Kaiser  and  Pope. 

The  German  Catholic  mission  in  China  has  enjoyed 
the  consistent  protection  and  encouragement  of  the 
Kaiser.  Its  chief,  Bishop  Anzer,  on  the  several  oc- 
casions of  his  visits  to  Berlin,  was  the  guest  of  the 
monarch  and  his  trusted  counsellor  in  Chinese  af- 
fairs. 

Shortly  after  the  Kaiser's  second  visit  to  the  abbey 
of  Maria  Laach,  its  abbot,  Benzler,  became  bishop  of 
Metz,  and  on  October  24,  1901,  he  swore  allegiance  to 
the  Kaiser,  the  latter  responding  by  according  the  bish- 
op high  praise  for  his  patriotism  and  expressing  entire 
confidence  in  him.  He  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the 
fact  that  the  bishop  was  going  to  a  field  of  activity 
where  those  qualities  which  he  had  learned  to  admire 
in  him  would  be  of  particular  importance,  and  that  he, 
the  Kaiser,  was  very  glad  that  his  own  choice  for  in- 

'  In  China.— Ed. 
63 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

cumbent  of  this  see  had  at  last  been  approved  and  con- 
firmed by  Rome.1 

On  December  3,  1901,  the  Kaiser  received  the  oath 
of  allegiance  of  the  new  titulary  bishop  of  Strassburg, 
Zorn  von  Bulach,  belonging  to  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished and  ancient  noble  families  of  Alsace.  In  re- 
plying to  the  new  church  dignitary's  address,  the  Kaiser 
said: 

"Those  assurances  of  loyalty,  and  those  wishes  for 
the  welfare  of  my  house,  as  well  as  your  past  in  the  ser- 
vice of  state  and  church,  permit  me  to  indulge  the  hope 
that  you  will  regard  it  as  your  duty  to  foster  harmony 
in  the  diocese  of  Strassburg,  so  far  as  in  you  lies,  and 
to  strengthen  the  spirit  of  respect  for  me  and  the  love 
of  the  German  fatherland.  In  doing  so  you  will  follow 
the  example  of  your  ancestors,  who  in  the  time  of  the 
old  empire  held  faithfully  to  emperor  and  country  in 
good  and  evil  days." 

When,  on  May  22,  1902,  the  Kaiser,  during  a  brief 
sojourn  in  Metz,  visited  the  cathedral  there,  Bishop 
Benzler  addressed  him  at  some  length.  He  thanked 
him  for  liberal  gifts,  and  for  promoting  the  restoration 
of  this  ancient  pile,  one  of  the  finest  types  of  early 
Gothic,  and  asked  for  God's  blessing  upon  the  head  of 
the  monarch.     The  Kaiser  replied  pleasantly. 

In  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  venerable  town  the  Kaiser 
visited  on  June  19,  1902,  he  inspected  the  cathedral, 
likewise  renovated  and  restored  largely  through  his 
efforts.     The  prelate,  Dr.  Bellerheim,  rendered  public 


1  The  filling  of  the  vacant 
bishoprics  of  Metz  and  Strass- 
burg had,  after  the  death  of  the 
former  incumbents,  been  matter 
of  bitter  contention  for  several 
years   between   the   Kaiser   and 

64 


the  Roman  Curia.  In  the  latter, 
under  the  influence  of  the 
Francophile  party,  with  Car- 
dinal Rampolla  at  its  head,  the 
Kaiser's  candidates  had  at  first 
been  rejected. — Ed. 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE  CATHOLIC   CHURCH 

thanks  to  the  Emperor,  and  pointed  out  the  incessant 
activity  of  the  sovereign  in  aiding  and  encouraging 
the  preservation  of  Catholic  houses  of  worship,  and  in 
fostering  among  the  whole  population  the  spirit  of 
reverence  for  and  of  devotion  to  Christian  observances 
and  practices. 

The  Kaiser,  in  his  answer,  expressed  his  joy  at  hav- 
ing been  able  to  take  up  the  aims  of  his  father  and 
grandfather  in  restoring  and  finishing  work  on  a  church 
which  had  been  built,  in  its  earliest  portions,  by  Charle- 
magne.    Then  he  concluded: 

"  Through  the  centuries  a  trait  distinguishes  the  man 
of  Germanic  blood — his  love  and  admiration  for  nature, 
a  sentiment  implanted  by  the  Creator  as  one  of  our 
most  cherished  heirlooms.  This  sentiment  Germans 
have  extended  towards  their  houses  of  worship,  and  the 
architectural  type  thus  evolved  is  something  which  no 
German  can  do  without.  For  the  sovereign  it  becomes 
a  sacred  duty  to  protect  this  sentiment.  ..." 

On  the  same  day  Emperor  William  delivered  a 
speech,  in  reply  to  welcoming  words  from  Chief  Mayor 
Veltmann,  which  created  some  sensation,  especially  in 
Catholic  circles  at  home  and  abroad.  The  most  vital 
passages  in  it  were  the  following: 

"...  Aix-la-Chapelle  is  the  cradle  of  German  im- 
perialism. Here  the  great  Charles  placed  his  imperial 
chair,  and  this  ancient  town  received  a  portion  of  his 
reflected  glory.  But  imposing  and  great  as  was  the 
figure  of  this  powerful  Germanic  ruler,  it  received  new 
splendor  by  being  offered  from  Rome  the  dignity  of 
the  old  Roman  Cassars.  He  it  was  who  inherited  the 
imperium  romanum.  Surely  this  was  a  magnificent  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  capacities  inherent  in  the  Ger- 

65 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

manic  race,  only  recently  arisen  in  history.  For  the 
sceptre  had  been  wrested  from  the  hands  of  the  Cassars 
and  their  successors,  and  the  Roman  imperium  shook, 
rotten  to  the  core.  It  was  the  appearance  of  the  glad- 
somely  victorious  Teutons,  with  their  moral  intactness, 
which  pointed  new  paths  to  the  world's  history,  the 
paths  in  which  it  is  still  treading.  .  .  . 

"  But  what  had  been  possible  to  the  mighty  person- 
ality of  Charlemagne,  proved  in  the  long  run  impossible 
for  those  who  came  after  him.  Keeping  their  eyes  too 
much  on  the  world-empire,  succeeding  dynasties  of  Ger- 
man emperors  lost  sight  of  the  needs  of  their  own 
German  land  and  people.  They  and  their  hosts  went 
south  to  maintain  the  world-empire,  arid  forgot  their 
own  Germany.  .  .  . 

"  But  now  another  empire  has  grown  up.  The  Ger- 
man people  have  again  their  Kaiser.  They  have 
chosen  him,  sword  in  hand,  on  the  battle-field,  and 
there,  too,  they  have  found  the  imperial  crown.  The 
imperial  banner  again  waves  high  in  the  air.  ...  But 
the  aims  and  purposes  of  the  new  empire  are  differ- 
ent ones.  Satisfied  with  our  new  frontiers,  we  prepare 
ourselves  at  home  for  those  great  tasks  which  now  de- 
volve on  us,  and  which  during  the  Middle  Ages  we  were 
unable  to  fulfil.  And  thus  we  see  that  the  new  empire, 
though  young,  gains  internal  strength  year  after  year, 
while  confidence  in  it  is  felt  everywhere  more  and  more 
strongly.  And  the  mighty  German  army  vouchsafes 
peace  to  Europe.  This  is  in  accord  with  Germanic 
character.  We  limit  ourselves  so  far  as  outward  power 
is  concerned,  in  order  to  have  unlimited  power  at  home, 
within  our  own  frontiers.  Far  away  our  language 
exerts  influence  across  the  seas.  Far,  too,  fly  German 
science  and  research,  and  there  is  no  work  done  in  any 
sphere  of  modern  research  which  we  may  not  read, 
too,  in  our  tongue,  and  no  thought  springs  from  science 

66 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE  CATHOLIC   CHURCH 

which  we,  first  of  all,  do  not  utilize  and  fructify,  in 
order  that  other  nations  may  adopt  it  subsequently. 
This  is  the  world-empire  which  the  German  mind  as- 
pires to. 

"  But  if  we  wish  to  fulfil  wholly  the  great  tasks  come 
to  us,  we  must  not  forget  that  the  primal  soil  on  which 
this  empire  has  arisen  has  its  root  in  the  simplicity,  the 
God-fearing  piety,  and  the  high  moral  conceptions  of 
our  ancestors.  God's  hand  lay  heavy  upon  our  coun- 
try at  the  commencement  of  the  last  century,  and  the 
arm  of  Providence  has  mightily  wrought  the  iron  in 
the  furnace  of  misery  until  the  weapon  was  ready  for 
use.  And,  therefore,  I  expect  from  you  all,  whether 
clergy  or  laymen,  to  preserve  religion  within  the  people. 
Jointly  we  must  toil  to  keep  intact  for  the  Germanic 
race  its  healthy  strength,  its  moral  foundations.  And 
that  may  only  be  done  by  maintaining  religion,  a  re- 
mark which  applies  to  both  forms  of  worship.1  The 
greater,  therefore,  is  my  joy  in  communicating  news  to 
the  gentlemen  of  the  Church  I  see  here  present,  news 
which  I  am  proud  to  be  able  to  tell  you.  Right  here, 
gentlemen,  stands  General  von  Loe,  a  faithful  servant 
of  his  King.  I  sent  him  to  Rome,  to  bear  my  gifts  and 
congratulations  to  the  Holy  Father,  and  when  he,  in 
confidential  conversation,  gave  information  to  the  Pon- 
tiff as  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  our  German  lands,  the 
Holy  Father  answered  him,  saying  he  was  glad  to  tes- 
tify to  the  fact  that  he  had  always  thought  highly  of 
the  piety  of  the  Germans,  especially  of  the  German 
army.  And,  he  added,  he  could  say  more  than  that, 
and  he  commissioned  him  to  tell  me  that  the  one  land 
in  Europe  where  order  and  discipline  ruled,  where 
respect  for  the  authorities,  devotion  to  the  Church, 
prevailed,  and  where  every  Catholic  was  free  to  live 

1  The  Kaiser  here  refers,  of  course,  to  the  Protestant  and  Cath- 
olic faiths. — Ed. 

67 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

according  to  the  tenets  of  his  faith,  was  the  German 
Empire,  and  for  that  he  had  to  thank  the  German  Em- 
peror. 

"  That,  gentlemen,  gives  me  the  right  to  say  that  our 
two  faiths,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  must  keep  the  one 
common  aim  in  view:  to  fortify  and  foster  the  fear  of 
God  and  the  veneration  for  religion.  .  .  .  Whoever  does 
not  put  his  life  on  the  broad  rock  of  religion  is  lost.  ..." 

The  speech,  recent  as  it  was,  must  be  taken  as  a  sort 
of  programme  which  the  Kaiser  means  to  follow  more 
or  less  consistently,  and  it  cannot  be  interpreted  any 
other  way  than  revealing  a  species  of  pact  and  general 
understanding  concluded  between  him  and  the  Pope, 
so  far,  at  least,  as  the  difference  in  creed  allows  that. 
That,  however,  the  Kaiser,  while  holding  such  strict 
views  as  to  religion  and  its  profession,  is  not  narrow- 
minded,  must  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  he  has 
several  times  during  the  past  year  sought  the  conversa- 
tion and  the  teachings  of  Professor  Delitzsch,  the  most 
noted  German  Assyriologist  and  the  most  dreaded  op- 
ponent of  the  dogma  of  the  divine  origin  of  the  Old 
Testament.  In  doing  which,  it  is  interesting  to  note, 
he  has  found  the  outspoken  disapprobation  not  only  of 
the  Catholic  clergy  and  the  orthodox  wing  of  German 
Protestant  theology,  but  even  of  the  Jewish  rabbis  all 
over  the  empire. 


IV 

THE  KAISER  AND  THE  LABORING  CLASSES 

Pro-labor  promises  on  his  accession — Legislation  in  favor  of 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  German  working-classes 
— The  Kaiser  as  mediator  during  a  great  coal  strike — Ger- 
man anti-accident  exhibition — Congress  at  Berlin  convened 
by  the  Kaiser  to  devise  means  for  the  betterment  of  the 
laborer's  lot — Imperial  warnings  against  socialistic  influ- 
ences—  His  harsh  description  of  the  German  socialists  — 
Why  the  Kaiser  lost  interest  in  further  pro-labor  legislation. 

One  of  the  chief  items  in  the  Kaiser's  outlined  policy 
at  the  beginning  of  his  reign  was  the  amelioration  of 
the  lot  of  the  laboring  classes  in  the  empire.  In  Ger- 
many more  than  elsewhere  there  was,  and  is,  room  for 
improvement  in  this  respect,  for  toil  means  for  the 
masses  longer  hours  and  scanter  pay  than  in  either 
England  or  the  United  States,  poorer  fare  and  harder 
taxation,  the  crushing  burden  of  compulsory  military 
service,  and  a  decidedly  lower  estimation  in  the  public 
eye,  and  harsher  treatment  as  well  on  the  part  of  the 
higher  classes  and  of  the  government  than  obtain  in 
the  two  countries  named.  It  may  be  presumed  that 
the  Kaiser  had  a  conception  of  these  facts,  and  that  at 
the  outset  of  his  career  as  a  ruler  he  had  firmly  made  up 
his  mind  to  do  what  lay  in  his  power  to  bring  about 
betterment  for  the  perspiring,  hard-driven  millions  of 
German  working-men.  The  subjoined  passage  in  the 
speech  from  the  throne,  delivered  on  the  opening  of 
the  Reichstag,  October  22,  1888,  but  four  months  after 
he  attained  to  the  throne,  bears  this  out: 

69 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

"As  a  cherished  legacy  from  my  grandfather,  now 
resting  in  God,  the  task  has  descended  to  me  to  con- 
tinue the  socio-political  legislation  inaugurated  by  him. 
I  do  not  indulge  the  fallacy  that  the  stress  of  the  period 
and  human  misery  are  to  be  obliterated  by  legislative 
measures.  But  yet  I  deem  it  one  of  the  duties  and 
prerogatives  of  the  state  to  aim  at  the  relief  of  existing 
economic  distress,  and  to  enforce  acknowledgment  of 
the  duty  of  neighborly  love,  grown  out  of  the  soil  of 
Christianity,  by  organic  state  institutions.  This  duty, 
indeed,  must  be  assumed  by  the  whole  state  organism. 
The  difficulties  interposing  themselves  between  a  real- 
ization of  plans  looking  to  insurance  of  all  working-peo- 
ple against  the  burdens  of  old  age  and  inability  to  work, 
and  made  compulsory  by  the  authority  of  government, 
are  great,  but,  I  trust,  with  God's  help,  not  insurmount- 
able. As  the  fruit  of  extensive  preliminary  labors  in 
behalf  of  this  project,  a  bill  will  be  presented  to  you 
which  proposes  a  practicable  way  towards  the  attain- 
ment of  this  end." 

On  November  16,  1888,  the  Kaiser  received  del- 
egations in  Breslau  of  the  Protestant  and  Cath- 
olic labor  societies,  and  made  answer  to  their  ad- 
dress : 

"...  The  working-man's  welfare  lies  close  to  my 
heart.  .  .  .  Breslau's  laboring  classes  have  been  the 
first  to  recognize  that  and  to  give  expression  to  their 
loyalty  to  me  and  my  house.  I  feel  convinced  that 
they  will  in  the  future  likewise  show  their  faith  in  me 
on  all  occasions.  I  hope  and  desire  that  the  example 
given  by  the  working-men  of  Silesia's  capital  will  be 
imitated  by  the  laboring  population  in  every  part  of 
the  monarchy,  and  that  they  all  will  stand  by  my  house 
in  similar  unanimity.  ..." 

70 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  LABORING  CLASSES 

On  April  30,  1889,  the  German  General  Exposition 
for  the  Prevention  of  Accidents  was  inaugurated  in 
Berlin,  under  the  protectorate  of  the  Kaiser.  At  its 
opening  the  Kaiser  spoke  as  follows: 

"  With  joy  I  welcome  this  evidence  of  efforts  to  se- 
cure to  the  industrial  toiler  a  greater  measure  of  safety 
from  the  dangers  incidental  to  his  calling,  and  which 
have  increased  of  late,  to  improve  the  economic  con- 
ditions of  the  laboring  classes  by  organic  measures, 
and  to  lend  expression  in  our  public  and  legal  in- 
stitutions to  the  thought  of  practical  love  for  our 
neighbor. 

"  The  generations  living  and  to  come  will  never  forget 
that  it  was  the  merit  of  my  grandfather,  now  resting  in 
God,  to  have  brought  it  home  to  general  consciousness 
how  important  are  these  endeavors  for  the  common 
welfare. 

"With  a  conviction  of  their  urgency  and  justice,  I 
have  approached  those  social  problems,  the  solution  of 
which  still  awaits  us.  In  this  I  count  upon  the  intelli- 
gent co-operation  of  all  classes  of  the  population,  but 
more  especially  upon  that  of  the  working-men,  whose 
welfare  is  at  stake  in  these  matters,  and  that  of  the 
employers,  who  in  their  own  interest  are  ready  and 
willing  to  make  the  sacrifices  resulting  therefrom. 

"This  exposition,  too,  is  a  fruit  of  these  endeavors. 
It  demonstrates  how  far  until  the  present  the  provi- 
sions of  the  law  have  taken  visible  shape  in  practical  life. 
The  pains  taken  to  bring  about  this  exposition  and  the 
law  I  referred  to  will,  I  trust  to  God,  not  remain  with- 
out a  blessing.  To  all  those  who  have  aided  us  in  this 
task  I  render  thanks  and  acknowledgment.  May  the 
exposition  help  us  to  bring  home  to  all  interested 
what  may  be  done  to  protect  the  working-man  and  to 
promote  his  interests." 

7i 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

A  few  days  later  a  general  strike  of  all  the  miners 
broke  out  in  the  coal-mining  districts  of  the  Ruhr,  in 
Westphalia.  This  strike  threatened  to  paralyze  traffic 
and  industry,  especially  as  the  miners  in  all  the  other 
Prussian  coal-mines  prepared  to  join  in  the  strike.  To 
adjust  and,  if  possible,  terminate  the  quarrel  between 
employers  and  employes,  the  Kaiser  received  a  delega- 
tion from  each  party,  one  after  the  other.  On  May  14, 
1889,  he  made  answer  to  the  delegation  from  the  miners 
as  follows: 

"  Every  subject,  if  he  has  to  prefer  a  wish  or  ask  a 
favor,  has,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  ear  of  the  Em- 
peror. This  I  have  shown  by  permitting  the  delega- 
tion to  come  here  and  to  present  their  desires  in  person. 
You  have,  however,  done  wrong,  for  your  movement  is 
an  unlawful  one,  if  for  no  other  reason  at  least  be- 
cause you  have  not  given  a  fortnight's  notice,  only  at 
the  expiration  of  which  you  would  have  been  entitled 
by  law  to  stop  work.  You  are,  therefore,  guilty  of  a 
breach  of  contract.  It  needs  no  pointing  out  that  this 
breach  of  contract  has  injured  and  excited  the  employ- 
ers. Again,  workmen  who  did  not  want  to  strike  have 
been  prevented,  forcibly  or  by  threats,  to  continue 
work.  Furthermore,  some  strikers  have  used  violence 
in  meeting  the  authorities,  and  have  destroyed  private 
property,  while  others  have  even  gone  so  far  as,  in 
some  cases,  to  resist  forcibly  the  military  which  had 
been  summoned  to  protect  property.  Finally,  you 
declare  that  you  will  resume  work  only  when  all  your 
demands  have  been  accepted  in  all  mines  affected.  As 
regards  your  demands,  I  shall  have  these  thoroughly 
examined  by  my  government,  and  shall  let  you  know 
in  time  the  result  through  the  official  channels.  But 
if  riots  or  other  derelictions  against  public  order  and 
peace  should  occur,  and  if  this  movement  of  yours 

72 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  LABORING  CLASSES 

should  be  found  to  be  instigated  by  social-democratic 
agitation,  then  in  that  case  I  would  not  be  able  to 
consider  your  wishes  with  my  royal  good-will.  For 
to  me  every  Social  Democrat  is  nothing  better  than 
the  enemy  of  the  empire  and  of  his  country.  If  I 
should  notice,  therefore,  that  social-democratic  tenden- 
cies are  mingling  with  this  movement,  and  spur  you  on 
to  unlawful  resistance,  I  should  intervene  with  the  ut- 
most severity,  and  I  should  use  the  full  power  in  my 
hands — and  it  is,  as  you  know,  an  extensive  one — in 
meeting  force  with  force.  Now  return  home.  Consid- 
er well  what  I  have  told  you,  and  try  to  influence  your 
comrades,  so  that  they  will  return  to  reason  and  order. 
Above  all,  you  must  not  prevent,  under  any  circum- 
stances, those  of  your  comrades  who  wish  to  work  from 
resuming  work." 

And  to  the  delegation  sent  by  the  coal-mine  owners 
and  operators  in  the  Ruhr  district,  he  said,  two  days 
later,  after  listening  to  their  complaints: 

"Gentlemen,  I  have  granted  you  this  audience,  be- 
cause it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  the  monarch,  in  cases 
where  his  subjects  have  fallen  to  quarrelling  and  need  a 
mediator,  that  he  should  hear  both  parties,  provided 
they  have  come  to  him  with  confidence.  I  have  heard 
the  working-men,  and  I  am  glad  to  see  you  here  to-day. 
As  to  the  cause  of  the  differences  and  the  means  to  end 
them,  I  am  still  waiting  for  detailed  reports  from  my 
officials.  My  main  object  is,  now  that  a  second  strike 
in  Silesia,  transplanted  there  from  Westphalia,  is  on 
the  point  of  breaking  out,  and  in  view  of  the  far- 
reaching  injury  done  by  the  strike  to  the  nation  as  a 
whole,  to  put  an  end  to  this  strike.  You  know  what  I 
told  the  miners.  In  my  words  to  them  I  have  sharply 
defined  my  view-point.     These  miners,  though,  made  a 

73 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

good  impression  on  me.  They  have  avoided  contact 
with  the  Social  Democrats.  That  my  words  to  them 
have  found  appreciation  in  laboring  circles  in  West- 
phalia is  proven  to  me  by  telegrams  I  have  received 
from  there.  It  has  gratified  me  that  they  have  re- 
jected attempts  on  the  part  of  the  Social  Democrats  to 
interfere.  The  negotiations  which  you,  Herr  Ham- 
macher,  as  chairman  of  your  organization,  have  con- 
ducted with  the  miners'  delegation,  I  have  had  re- 
ported to  me  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  I  must 
express  to  you  my  appreciation  of  the  good-will  shown 
by  you  in  meeting  the  views  of  the  working-men.  Thus 
you  have  secured  a  basis  for  final  understanding.  I 
shall,  indeed,  rejoice  if  employers  and  employes  should 
find  an  adjustment  on  this  basis.  From  my  own  view- 
point I  will,  however,  emphasize  another  thing :  if  you, 
gentlemen,  hold  the  opinion  that  the  miners'  delega- 
tion I  have  heard  do  not  represent  the  dominating 
circles  among  the  strikers,  I  will  say  that  that  does 
not  matter.  Even  if  they  should  have  but  a  portion 
of  the  working-men  behind  them,  and  expressed  only 
the  views  held  in  their  own  ranks,  the  moral  effect  of  an 
attempt  at  reconciliation  would  nevertheless  be  great. 
But  if  they  have,  indeed,  been  the  delegates  of  the 
miners  and  have  represented  the  views  held  by  the 
whole  mass  of  Westphalian  miners,  and  if  they  are 
satisfied  with  the  terms  you  have  offered  them,  I  have 
sufficient  confidence  in  their  common-sense  and  patri- 
otism to  believe  that  they  will  make  the  attempt,  and 
probably  with  success,  to  induce  their  comrades  to  re- 
turn to  work. 

"And  right  here  I  should  like  to  say  to  all  those  con- 
cerned that  it  will  be  very  useful  in  future  if  the  mine- 
owners  and  their  officials  will  try  and  keep  in  close 
touch  with  the  miners,  so  that  a  similar  movement 
does  not  escape  them  again.     This  strike  certainly  did 

74 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   LABORING    CLASSES 

not  come  suddenly,  not  without  preparation.  .  .  . 
I  would  like  to  ask  you  to  take  care  that  the  miners 
have  always  an  opportunity  to  formulate  their  wishes, 
and  always  to  keep  this  present  in  your  minds,  that 
those  companies  or  single  owners  of  mines  and  other 
large  concerns  who  employ  a  considerable  portion 
of  my  subjects  thereby  assume  the  duty  towards  the 
state  and  towards  the  communities  in  which  they  live 
to  take  care  of  the  welfare  of  their  toilers  to  the  best 
of  their  ability,  and,  above  all,  to  avoid  such  a  con- 
dition of  affairs  again,  by  which  the  inhabitants  of  a 
whole  province  are  involved  in  difficulties. 

"You  must  remember  that,  humanely  speaking,  it  is 
but  natural  that  everybody  tries  to  improve  his  con- 
dition and  his  earnings.  The  working-men  read  news- 
papers, and  they  know  the  proportion  of  their  wages 
to  the  revenues  of  the  companies.  That  they  wish  to 
have  their  proper  share  in  the  total  earnings  of  each 
concern  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  I  would  like  to  ask 
you,  gentlemen,  to  examine  in  each  case  the  condition 
of  their  affairs  with  the  most  minute  and  conscientious 
care,  and  thus  to  prevent  for  the  future  such  a  calamity 
as  the  present  one.  I  would  most  earnestly  recom- 
mend to  you,  gentlemen,  to  try  and  bring  to  a  success- 
ful and  mutually  satisfactory  issue  the  negotiations 
which  your  chairman  began  yesterday.  I  regard  it  as 
my  royal  duty  to  vouchsafe  to  both  employers  and  em- 
ployes my  assistance  in  settling  such  difficulties  as  this 
one,  in  proportion  as  they  and  each  of  them  are  earnest- 
ly anxious  to  promote  the  interests  of  their  fellow- 
citizens  by  fostering  harmony  among  themselves  and 
by  avoiding  such  industrial  shocks  as  these." 

The  working-men  of  Germany,  on  their  part,  some 
time  after  the  above  events,  testified  to  their  gratitude 
for  the  Kaiser's  efforts  in  their  behalf  by  a  demonstra- 

75 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

tion  on  December  8th  of  the  same  year.  The  Kaiser 
visited  the  ancient  city  of  Worms,  in  the  Rhine  coun- 
try, and  a  delegation  of  the  local  working-men  hand- 
ed him  an  address  and  a  wreath.  The  Kaiser  said  to 
them: 

"  I  gladly  accept  this  address  and  wreath  as  tokens 
of  your  affection  and  devotion.  I  am  aware  that  the 
working  -  men  of  Worms  have  always  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  patriotism  and  fidelity.  I  trust 
that  they  will  continue  to  withstand  the  temptations 
and  approaches  made  to  them,  and  that  they  will 
steadfastly  adhere  to  their  loyal  sentiments." 

In  the  succeeding  year,  1890,  a  number  of  more  than 
usually  important  measures,  inaugurated  at  the  in- 
stance and  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Kaiser,  and  in- 
tended for  the  improvement  of  the  lot  of  the  German 
laboring  classes,  became  public.  As  a  preliminary 
step  the  Reichsanzeiger  published,  on  February  8th,  the 
subjoined  decree: 

"To  the  Imperial  Chancellor 

"I  am  resolved  to  assist,  so  far  as  the  limitations 
drawn  by  the  necessity  of  keeping  German  industry 
in  condition  to  compete  with  the  world's  markets 
permit  me,  in  meliorating  the  condition  of  the  German 
working-man.  Serious  losses,  of  course,  of  our  home 
industries  by  reason  of  a  decrease  in  our  exports  would 
not  only  injure  the  employers,  but  would  also  deprive 
their  employes  of  the  means  of  existence.  The  diffi- 
culties created  by  international  competition  when  try- 
ing to  improve  the  condition  of  our  laboring  classes  can 
only  be  partially  overcome  by  international  agreement 
among  those  countries  most  interested  in  the  world's 
markets.     In    the    conviction,    therefore,    that    other 

76 


THE   KAISER   AND  THE    LABORING    CLASSES 

governments  as  well  are  animated*  by  the  desire  to 
examine  jointly  those  efforts  made  even  now  by  the 
laboring  classes  of  these  different  countries,  I  direct 
that  my  representatives  in  France,  England,  Belgium, 
and  Switzerland  make  official  inquiry  whether  these 
governments  are  inclined  to  associate  themselves  with 
us  for  the  purpose  of  an  international  agreement  as  to 
the  possibility  of  meeting  those  desires  and  require- 
ments of  the  laboring  classes  which  have  been  enunci- 
ated by  them  on  the  occasion  of  strikes  during  the  last 
few  years.  As  soon  as  adhesion,  in  principle,  to  my 
proposal  shall  have  been  made,  I  shall  instruct  you  to 
invite  the  cabinets  of  all  those  governments  taking  a 
common  interest  in  the  labor  question  to  a  conference 
as  to  the  main  points  entering  into  this  question. 

"William." 

In  simultaneously  published  decrees  to  the  Prussian 
Ministers  of  Commerce  and  Industry  and  of  Public 
Works,  the  Kaiser  defined  the  chief  objects  he  had  in 
view  in  such  a  conference.  He  said  that  it  was  the 
task  of  the  state  to  regulate  the  time,  duration,  and 
manner  of  labor  in  such  a  way  as  to  subserve  the 
preservation  of  health,  the  dictates  of  morality,  the 
economic  requirements  of  the  laboring  classes,  and  of 
their  claims  to  common  legal  rights  and  protection; 
also  to  frame  laws  looking  to  the  maintenance  of 
peaceful  relations  between  employer  and  employe, 
by  providing  for  adequate  representation  of  the  la- 
borers in  the  regulation  of  joint  matters  of  Interest 
in  dealing  with  their  employers  and  with  the  organs 
of  government.  By  the  latter  institution  the  laborer 
was  to  be  given  a  regular  opportunity  to  express  his 
needs  and  complaints,  and  the  state  authorities  would 
thereby  remain  in  constant  touch  with  the  working- 
classes.     The  mines  belonging  to  the  Prussian  fiscus 

77 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

he  wanted  to  be  made  model  enterprises,  subject  to 
similar  restrictions  as  those  imposed  on  the  Prussian 
factories  by  the  law  of  1869. 

He  also  summoned  the  Prussian  council  of  state  to 
deliberate,  under  his,  the  Kaiser's,  own  presidency,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  technical  experts,  on  the  pre- 
liminaries. 

On  February  14,  1890,  but  a  few  days  after,  the  coun- 
cil of  state  did  convene  at  the  royal  castle  in  Berlin. 
The  Kaiser  opened  this  special  session  with  an  address, 
in  which  he  said: 

"...  The  task  for  the  solution  of  which  I  have  bidden 
you  here,  demands  your  best  efforts  and  your  ripest 
judgment.  The  protection  to  be  vouchsafed  the  work- 
ing-man against  an  unlimited  and  arbitrary  exploita- 
tion of  his  strength  for  labor ;  the  amount  of  restricting 
child-labor  in  conformity  with  the  behests  of  humanity 
and  of  the  natural  laws  of  increase ;  the  attention  to  be 
paid  to  the  status  of  wives,  in  social,  moral,  and  eco- 
nomic regards,  in  the  household  of  working-men,  so  in- 
calculably important  in  the  family  life  of  the  nation; 
and  a  number  of  therewith  connecting  conditions  ob- 
taining in  our  laboring  classes — all  these  matters  are 
susceptible  of  improved  regulation.  In  considering 
these  problems,  however,  great  care  must  be  taken  to 
ascertain,  with  the  aid  of  technical  expert  opinion,  just 
in  how  far  our  industry  will  be  able  to  bear  such  greater 
cost  of  production  as  will  be  necessitated  by  the  en- 
joinment  of  stricter  provisions  in  favor  of  the  laborer, 
without  endangering,  while  competing  with  the  world's 
markets,  the  remunerative  occupation  of  the  laborer 
himself.  By  going  beyond  proper  limits,  injury,  in- 
stead of  benefit,  to  the  economic  conditions  of  our  la- 
boring classes  would  be  wrought.  .  .  .  The  happy  solu- 
tion of  these  questions,  dominant  in  our  era,  is  closely 

78 


THE    KAISER   AND   THE    LABORING    CLASSES 

connected  as  well  with  the  international  agreement 
projected  by  me." 

After  summing  up  once  more,  substantially  as  out- 
lined in  the  aforementioned  decree  to  his  Ministers  of 
Commerce  and  Public  Works,  the  main  desiderata  in  his 
mind,  the  Kaiser  says  that  he  is  quite  aware  that  all 
these  efforts  by  the  state  in  behalf  of  the  toiling  masses 
will  not  be  able  to  remove  from  their  serried  ranks  a 
certain  amount  of  penury,  hardship,  and  distress,  and 
that,  as  hitherto,  Christian  charity  and  benevolence, 
and  the  beneficent  aid  of  school  and  church,  cannot  be 
dispensed  with.  The  speech  winds  up  with  detailed 
instructions  to  the  council  of  state  and  to  the  various 
committees  regarding  the  share  of  labor  devolving  on 
each. 

A  few  days  later  the  Kaiser  said  to  Herr  von  Eynern, 
a  leading  parliamentarian  in  those  days: 

"  Whether  gratitude  or  ingratitude  will  be  our  por- 
tion in  trying  to  improve  the  condition  of  our  laboring 
classes,  at  all  events  I  am  resolved  to  persevere  in  my 
efforts.  I  cherish  the  conviction  that  this  care  and 
protection  by  the  state  must  end  in  reconciling  the 
laboring  classes  with  their  position  within  our  social 
fabric.  And,  anyhow,  these  endeavors  will  procure  me 
a  quiet  conscience." 

> 

Cardinal  Manning,  of  England,  considered  in  those 
days  an  authority  in  practical  social  politics,  wrote  at 
about  this  time  to  a  friend: 

"...  You  want  my  opinion  about  the  conference  on  the  labor 
question,  and  on  the  condition  of  those  millions  living  in  each 
country  of  Europe  off  their  earnings  as  wage-workers,  which 
the  German  Emperor  is  about  to  convene.  I  hold  this  imperial 
act  the  wisest  and  most  dignified  emanating  from  a  sovereign 

79 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

of  our  time.  The  condition  in  which  the  wage-workers  of  all 
the  European  countries  find  themselves  is  a  grave  danger  to 
every  European  government.  The  long  hours  of  toil,  woman 
and  child  labor,  insufficient  earnings,  aggravated  by  insecurity 
of  employment,  keen  competition  nursed  by  modern  economy, 
and  the  destruction  of  family  life  due  to  these  and  other 
causes,  have  about  rendered  it  impossible  for  them  to  lead  a 
life  worthy  of  a  human  being.  How  can  a  man  working  fif- 
teen to  sixteen  hours  every  day  be  a  father  to  his  children? 
How  can  a  woman  who  is  away  from  home  the  whole  day  fulfil 
the  duties  of  a  mother?  Domestic  life  is  thus  made  an  im- 
possibility. And  yet  it  is  upon  family  life  that  the  whole 
fabric  of  human  society  rests.  If  the  foundation  be  injured, 
what  is  to  become  of  the  structure  ?  Kaiser  William,  therefore, 
has  proved  a  true  and  far-sighted  statesman." 

One  of  the  technical  experts  summoned  by  the  Kaiser 
to  assist  the  council  of  state  by  their  knowledge  and 
advice,  a  master  locksmith  from  Magdeburg,  named 
Deppe,  subsequently  published  his  impressions.  The 
extracts  of  special  interest  taken  from  his  statement 
are  these: 

"For  three  days,  from  10  a.m.  until  6.30  p.m.,  I  was  present 
at  these  sessions,  with  the  Kaiser  presiding.  The  Kaiser  was 
the  most  indefatigable  chairman.  He  opened  the  sessions, 
adjourned  and  closed  them,  gave  permission  to  speak  or  spoke 
himself,  and  several  times  wound  a  speaker  up  short,  if  the 
latter  drifted  off  to  alien  topics.  First  and  last  in  his  seat,  he 
followed  the  deliberations  with  closest  attention.  But  during 
the  luncheon  intermission,  during  which  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior  made  us  his  guests,  in  a  perfectly  informal  way  and  at 
a  row  of  tables,  wherever  one  felt  like  sitting  down,  this  duty- 
engrossed  monarch  became  the  most  approachable  one.  Why, 
one  forgot  that  he  was  the  German  Emperor,  seeing  him 
mingle  and  talking  freely  and  unaffectedly  with  every  one  that 
happened  to  be  near  him,  now  inquiring  and  again  imparting 
information,  or  discussing,  on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality, 
various  points  that  had  come  up." 

This  special  session  of  the  council  of  state  was  closed 
on  February  28,  1890,  and  the  Kaiser  took  leave  of  the 
members  in  this  way: 

80 


THE    KfAISER   AND   THE   LABORING   CLASSES 

"  Gentlemen,  I  trust  you  will  oppose  the  view,  which 
somehow  has  obtained  a  foothold  among  the  public, 
that  we  have  met  here  to  discover  a  panacea  for  the 
cure  of  all  the  social  ills  and  defects.  We  have  earnest- 
ly striven  to  find  remedies  for  some  evils,  and  to  de- 
termine the  limits  beyond  which  we  may  not  go  in 
devising  measures  for  the  protection  of  labor.  I  hope 
that  some  good  will  spring  from  your  counsels." 

On  March  15th,  a  fortnight  later,  the  international 
congress  for  the  protection  of  labor  was  solemnly 
opened  in  the  palace  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor.  The 
Prussian  Minister  for  Commerce,  von  Berlepsch,  wel- 
comed the  delegates  in  the  name  of  the  Kaiser. 

In  his  speech  from  the  throne,  on  May  6th  follow- 
ing, the  Kaiser  said  to  the  Reichstag,  among  other 
things : 

"...  The  strikes  which  broke  out  in  various  parts  of 
the  empire  in  the  course  of  the  past  year  induced  me  to 
examine  closely  the  question  whether  existing  legisla- 
tion sufficiently  meets  those  just  and  reasonable  de- 
mands on  the  part  of  labor  which  seem  realizable  in  the 
present  state  of  our  political  order.  Above  all,  whether 
compulsory  Sunday  rest,  and  that  limitation  of  child 
and  woman  labor  which  reasons  of  humanity  and  the 
natural  laws  of  increase  seem  to  call  for,  cannot  be 
enforced.  The  allied  governments  have  become  con- 
vinced that  the  propositions  in  this  respect  emanating 
from  the  last  session  of  the  Reichstag  may  become  law 
without  infringement  of  other  legitimate  interests.  But 
we  have  found  that  a  number  of  additional  existing 
provisions  require  amendment  and  improvement.  This 
is  especially  the  case  with  the  laws  bearing  on  the  safety 
of  labor  from  dangers  to  life,  health,  and  morality,  and 
those  regulating  the  hours  of  labor.  ...  A  bill  will  reach 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

you  shortly  which  contains  modifications  of  the  present 
labor  laws,  in  consonance  with  the  views  elucidated. 

"Another  bill  aims  at  the  better  regulation  of  labor- 
arbitration  courts,  and  at  their  reorganization  in  such 
a  way  as  to  enable  us  to  call  upon  them  in  cases  of  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  between  employer  and  employe  as 
to  the  conditions  of  continuing  or  resuming  work,  and 
to  act  as  peace-makers  between  the  parties. 

"  I  have  full  confidence  in  your  willingness  to  co- 
operate in  these  matters.  .  .  .  The  more  our  laboring 
classes  come  to  recognize  the  conscientious  earnest- 
ness with  which  the  empire  seeks  to  meliorate  their  lot, 
the  more,  too,  they  will  become  aware  of  the  dangers 
springing  out  of  attempts  to  realize  unmeasured  and 
unrealizable  demands.  In  just  and  adequate  protec- 
tion to  the  laboring  classes  I  see  the  most  effective 
method  of  strengthening  those  forces  whose  province 
it  is  to  oppose  with  unbending  energy  all  attempts  to 
shake  by  violence  the  existing  order  of  things. 

"...  Our  industry  forms  but  a  link  in  the  chain  of 
economic  toil  done  by  those  nations  that  principally 
participate  in  competition  upon  the  world's  mar- 
kets. .  .  .  The  results  of  the  international  congress 
which  met  here  fill  me  with  special  gratification.  Its 
resolutions  form  the  expression  of  common  views  upon 
the  most  important  domain  of  the  civilizing  mission 
of  our  time.  The  principles  embodied  in  them  will,  I 
do  not  doubt,  act  as  a  seed  which,  with  God's  help, 
will  sprout  and  bear  blessings  for  the  benefit  of  all 
other  countries,  besides  bringing  forth  fruit  in  har- 
monizing the  relations  of  the  various  nations  with  one 
another." 

To  a  delegation,  seven  hundred  strong,  of  workmen 
and  mechanics  employed  in  the  Krupp  works  in  Essen, 
the  Kaiser  made  a  speech  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  he 

82 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  LABORING  CLASSES 

paid  that  giant  establishment  on  June  20,  1890.  He 
paid  a  tribute  to  the  enterprise  of  the  firm,  and 
thanked  the  delegation  for  having  "remained  on  the 
right  road,"  meaning  thereby  their  avoidance  of  so- 
cialistic agitation  and  methods. 

At  a  banquet  on  September  13,  1890,  given  at  the 
royal  castle  in  Breslau,  the  Kaiser  said : 

"...  With  great  joy  I  have  noticed  that  it  is  again 
this  province !  which,  first  of  all,  has  been  trying  to  re- 
alize my  aims  regarding  the  increased  welfare  of  the 
laboring  classes.  In  praiseworthy  manner  Church  and 
laymen  join  hands  here  to  raise  the  standard  of  living 
among  the  lower  classes.  Men  like  Prince  Pless  and 
the  Cardinal  Bishop2  furnish  a  good  example,  and  that 
example  has  not  remained  without  its  due  effect.  .  .  . 

"  Here  let  me  say  that  I  hope  our  citizens  will  at 
last  rouse  themselves  from  their  long  slumber,  and  to 
leave  warfare  against  the  destructive  elements  of  our 
population  no  longer  exclusively  to  the  state  and  its 
organs,  but  to  take  a  hand  in  the  fight  themselves.  I 
am  convinced  that  if  this  province  persists  in  its 
present  methods  it  will  succeed  in  restoring,  not  only 
within  its  own  confines  but  within  the  whole  country, 
reverence  for  the  Church,  respect  for  the  law,  and 
unquestioning  obedience  towards  the  crown  and  mon- 
arch." 

In  the  speech  from  the  throne  by  the  Kaiser,  on  De- 
cember 8,  1894,  at  the  opening  of  another  Reichstag 
session,  he  spoke  in  general  terms  of  the  government's 
duty  of  protecting  the  weaker  classes  of  society,  and 
to  aid  them  in  attaining  to  more  comfortable  circum- 
stances in  life.  "  The  duty  to  make  for  this  goal  with 
all  possible  energy  becomes  the  more  binding,"  he  said, 

1  Of  Silesia.— Ed.  2  Kopp—  Ed. 

83 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

"  the  more  strenuous  and  difficult  becomes  the  strug- 
gle for  existence  with  each  single  element  in  the  na- 
tion." 

Next  he  touched  with  emphatic  words  on  the  sup- 
posed necessity  for  "opposing  more  effectively  the 
virulent  machinations  of  those  who  would  hinder  the 
power  of  the  state  in  the  fulfilment  of  its  duties.  Ex- 
perience has  shown  that  existing  legislation  does  not 
lend  itself  sufficiently  to  the  purpose."  He  announced, 
therefore,  the  preparation  of  a  bill  intended  to  check 
further  Socialist  advance,  for  this  he  hinted  at  with  his 
words  quoted  above.  This  bill,  though,  and  several 
subsequent  bills  introduced  both  in  the  Reichstag  and 
in  the  Diet,  and  all  aiming,  in  one  shape  or  another,  at 
the  curtailment  of  Socialist  power  in  politics  and  social 
life,  failed  to  pass. 

There  came  a  day,  in  1898,  when  the  Kaiser,  em- 
bittered beyond  reason  and  stirred  to  the  depth  of  his 
nature,  spoke  in  another  speech  from  the  throne  of  the 
Socialist  party  in  Germany,  whose  voting  strength  had 
meanwhile  grown  to  far  over  two  millions,  and  had 
come  to  comprise  at  least  one-fourth  of  the  whole  na- 
tion, as  "  a  horde  of  men  unworthy  to  bear  the  name  of 
Germans." 

On  August  3,  1900,  the  Kaiser  distributed,  while  on 
a  visit  to  Bremerhaven,  whither  he  had  gone  to  bid 
God-speed  to  a  departing  vessel  bearing  a  contingent 
of  German  troops  to  the  punitive  expedition  in  China, 
some  fifteen  medals  of  honor  to  'longshoremen  and 
mechanics  of  the  North  German  Lloyd  and  of  the 
Hamburg- American  lines.  He  accompanied  this  act 
with  words  of  praise  for  these  men  who,  he  said,  had 
remained  loyally  at  their  post,  and  with  burning  words 
of  indignation  directed  against  those  of  their  comrades 
in  Hamburg,  whom  he  stigmatized  as  "having  been 
inveigled  by  traitorous  agitators"  and  who  had  taken 

84 


THE   KAISER   AND  THE   LABORING    CLASSES 

advantage  of  the  rush  and  pressure  to  demand  higher 
wages.  "  Base  is  he  who  leaves  his  fatherland  in  the 
lurch  in  moments  of  danger,"  he  exclaimed  on  this 
occasion. 

It  will  have  been  observed  that  the  Kaiser's  en- 
thusiasm in  behalf  of  the  improvement  of  the  German 
laboring-man's  hard  lot  was  rather  short-lived.  Al- 
together it  lasted  but  two  years.  Then  its  fire  was 
spent.  After  1890  the  investigator  searches  in  vain 
among  his  public  or  private  enunciations  for  expres- 
sions of  good -will  towards  the  laboring  classes  and 
of  plans  to  confer  further  benefits  upon  them  in  the 
shape  of  "  labor  -  friendly "  legislation.  On  the  con- 
trary, there  are  a  number  of  his  speeches,  made  since 
1890,  in  evidence  in  which  he  uses  rather  harsh  terms 
as  applied  to  these  very  classes.  The  honorary  title 
of  Rot  Gueux  (King  of  the  Poor),  which  Jules  Simon 
affixed  to  his  name  in  one  of  his  articles,  will  fit  Will- 
iam II.  no  longer.  The  two  men  who  were,  during  the 
first  years  of  his  reign,  his  favorite  instruments  and 
inspirers  of  his  policy  of  weening  away  Germany's 
toiling  masses  from  the  Socialist  banner  by  offering 
them  a  greater  measure  of  comforts— viz.,  the  then 
Prussian  Minister  of  Commerce,  von  Berlepsch,  and 
the  under-secretary  in  the  Imperial  Department  of  the 
Interior,  von  Rottenburg,1  were  both  retired  by  him 
long  ago.  All  pro-labor  legislation  has  been  shelved 
since  1890,  though  it  has  been  demonstrated  again 
and  again  in  the  Reichstag  that  the  existing  labor 
laws  and  the  laws  providing  for  old  age  and  invalid 
pensions  for  the  working  classes  by  no  means  suffi- 
ciently fulfil  their  mission. 

Berlepsch    was    curtly    dis-  !  late    American   ambassador,   W. 


missed,  though  he  still  privately 
labors  in  behalf  of  his  ideals; 
Rottenburg  (who  is  married,  by- 
the-way,  to    a  daughter  of  the 


W.  Phelps)  was  given  the  quiet 
though  honorary  post  as  curator 
of  the  University  of  Bonn,  which 
he  still  holds. — Ed. 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

The  cause  of  all  this,  especially  the  cause  of  the 
Kaiser's  so  completely  losing  interest  in  all  measures 
designed  to  benefit  the  laboring  classes  as  such,  may 
doubtless  be  found,  wholly  or  in  part,  in  the  fact  that 
the  Kaiser's  youthful  dreams  of  killing  socialism  by 
kindness  were  destined  to  failure,  just  as  Bismarck  had 
predicted  when  the  young  monarch  had  outlined  to  him 
his  programme  of  state  benefits  and  moral  suasion.  It 
is  matter  of  contemporaneous  history  that  the  Ger- 
man Socialist  party,  instead  of  dwindling  and  melting 
away  under  the  kindly  rays  of  the  imperial  sun,  grew 
steadily  and  enormously  in  numbers  during  the  fifteen 
years  of  the  present  Kaiser's  reign,  becoming  numer- 
ically by  far  the  largest  in  the  empire,  and  exerting  an 
amount  of  influence  upon  broad  strata  of  the  popula- 
tion which  was  never  equalled  before.  It  is  expected 
that  this  coming  summer,  when  the  delegates  to  an- 
other quinquennial  session  of  the  Reichstag  will  be 
elected  by  general  franchise,  the  number  of  Socialist 
voters  will  show,  despite  all  the  methods  of  govern- 
ment repression  and  manipulation,  another  consider- 
able increase. 


V 

THE  KAISER  AND  ALSACE-LORRAINE 

Promoting  the  spirit  of  loyalty  in  the  annexed  provinces — The 
beneficial  influence  of  his  frequent  visits  there — Speeches  to 
delegations — His  chateau  near  Courcelles,  and  his  neighborly 
relations  with  the  people. 

The  influence  which  the  Kaiser  has  exerted  on  the 
population  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  winning  them  over 
to  the  German  side  and  away  from  their  old-time  pre- 
dilections for  France,  forms,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  most 
striking  illustrations  of  his  abilities  as  a  ruler  and 
statesman,  and  one  of  the  most  flattering  evidences  of 
his  personal  magnetism. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  reign  the  bulk  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  two  annexed  provinces,  and  the  older  gen- 
eration almost  to  a  man,  were,  to  use  a  term  which 
hardly  expresses  the  facts,  disaffected.  The  evidence 
of  that  was  palpable.  It  cropped  out  in  the  Reichs- 
tag, where  the  delegates  from  these  provinces  at  regu- 
lar intervals  "protested"  against  the  actual  state  of 
things,  and  took  no  pains  to  conceal  their  French  sym- 
pathies. It  appeared  continually  in  the  press  of  Alsace 
and  Lorraine,  where,  despite  the  strict  censorship,  alle- 
giance to  France  was  preached  in  veiled  terms.  It 
came  out  in  ceaseless  complaints  to  the  new  German 
authorities,  and  in  frequent  letters  to  the  Paris  press. 
And  it  was  asserted  on  the  French  side  and  reluctantly 
admitted  on  the  part  of  German  visitors  and  inves- 
tigators. 

87 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

With  the  advent  of  the  Kaiser  in  the  Reichslande, 
however,  conditions  rapidly  changed.  The  Kaiser 
skilfully  employed  every  means  to  win  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  the  people  of  these  provinces,  polit- 
ically rather  conservative  and  fond  of  military  dash 
and  pageant,  and  next  their  affection.  His  most  ef- 
fective measures  were  probably  these:  he  purchased 
a  large  estate  near  Courcelles,  Lorraine,  enlarged  and 
beautified  it,  and  then  made  a  point  of  residing  there 
with  his  family  every  summer,  for  a  shorter  or  longer 
term,  entertaining  all  the  while  pleasant  and  neigh- 
borly relations  with  the  rural  population  in  the  vicinity ; 
he  encouraged  in  various  ways  the  industries  and  the 
agriculture  of  the  provinces,  bringing  them  to  a  higher 
degree  of  material  prosperity  than  they  ever  enjoyed 
during  the  two  centuries  of  French  rule;  he  "spoke 
them  fair,"  and  treated  their  spokesmen  and  repre- 
sentatives on  all  occasions  with  indulgence  and  sym- 
pathy; lastly,  he  made  frequent  visits  and  gave  the 
people  several  times  a  spectacle  they  traditionally 
crave — i.  e.,  splendid  military  parades  and  manoeuvres 
on  a  large  scale. 

In  the  foregoing  part  of  this  book  repeated  reference 
has  been  made  to  events  in  Alsace-Lorraine  during  the 
Kaiser's  reign.  Some  additional  speeches,  etc.,  by  the 
Kaiser  will,  however,  further  bear  out  what  is  here 
claimed. 

After  several  preliminary  trips  undertaken  by  the 
Kaiser  to  these  provinces,  he  received,  on  March  14, 
1 89 1,  a  delegation  from  the  joint  provincial  chamber 
of  deputies,  who  asked  him  to  abolish  the  onerous  and 
rigid  regulations  as  to  communication  and  traffic  be- 
yond the  frontier,  regulations  which  took  the  form  of 
compulsory  passports.  In  his  reply  the  Kaiser,  in  a 
pleasant  and  conciliatory  manner,  thanked  the  dele- 
gation for  their  assurances  of  loyalty  and  for  the  con- 


THE    KAISER   AND   ALSACE-LORRAINE 

fidence  shown  in  him,  expressing  a  hope  that  these 
sentiments  would  become  general.     Then  he  remarked : 

"  It  is,  indeed,  painful  to  me,  I  assure  you,  to  have  to 
deny  you  this  wish  at  present.  I  must  confine  myself 
for  the  moment  to  say  that  it  looks  as  if  in  the  near 
future  I  might  be  able  to  do  what  you  ask,  and  to  es- 
tablish easier  and  less  formal  modes  of  communication 
on  our  western  frontier.  This  hope  will  be  realized  all 
the  sooner  the  more  the  people  of  Alsace-Lorraine  be- 
come convinced  of  the  indissolubility  of  the  bonds  unit- 
ing them  with  Germany,  and  the  more  energetically 
they  demonstrate  the  resolve  to  remain  under  all  cir- 
cumstances faithful  and  true  to  me  and  to  the  empire." 

On  the  occasion  of  another  imperial  visit  to  the  prov- 
inces, in  the  autumn  of  1893,  the  Kaiser  made  a  brief 
stay  in  Metz,  where  he  was  welcomed  enthusiastically 
by  the  mayor,  Halm,  and  by  the  population.  In  his 
verbal  address  he  said,  among  other  things : 

"  Metz  and  the  army  corps  here  are  one  of  the  corner 
pillars  of  Germany's  military  power,  a  power  which  I 
am  firmly  resolved  to  use  in  maintaining  peace — peace 
with  the  whole  of  Europe. 

"  Heartily  I  thank  the  city  of  Metz  for  the  brilliant 
reception  accorded  me,  and  I  beg  that  this  may  be 
made  known  to  the  inhabitants  by  official  placards. 
My  headquarters  are,  as  you  know,  in  Urville,1  and 
that,  I  am  glad  to  say,  makes  me  also  a  Lorrainer,  a 
man  who  owns  landed  property  here  and  lives  among 
you  in  neighborly  fashion.  As  a  token  of  my  appre- 
ciation and  confidence,  I  hand  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  here- 
with a  golden  neck -chain  and  locket,  denoting  your 

1  Urville,  the  name  of  the  Kaiser's  estate  near  Courcelles. — Ed. 

89 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

important  office,  which  the  mayors  of  Metz  may  wear 
on  festive  occasions  hereafter.  ..." 

Next  day,  during  the  banquet  given  the  Kaiser  at 
the  officers'  casino  in  Metz,  the  Kaiser  toasted  his  hosts 
as  follows: 

"My  toast  to-day  is  for  the  Reichslande,  and  more 
especially  for  Lorraine.  My  warmest  and  most  cordial 
thanks  to  the  people  of  Lorraine  for  the  truly  friendly 
manner  in  which  they  have  received  me.  Thunderous 
acclaim,  jubilant  faces  greeted  me  here,  and  that,  I  am 
free  to  say,  has  gratified  me  immensely.  I  consider 
these  ovations,  this  gladsome  mood  not  alone  of  the 
people  of  Metz  but  also  of  the  rural  population,  a  proof 
that  Lorraine  feels  satisfied  with  being  a  part  of  the 
empire.  Before  the  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  here  a  pict- 
ure of  German  greatness,  of  German  unity,  is  un- 
folded.1 You  have  the  chief  of  the  empire  with  you,  and 
with  him,  united  in  sincere  friendship  and  in  strong 
compact,  his  relatives,  cousins,  sovereigns  of  German 
states.  With  lasting  pleasure  I  see  that  Lorraine  has 
gained  an  adequate  conception  of  the  greatness  of  the 
empire,  and  of  its  own  high  position  within  the  empire. 
'We  Lorrainers  are  loyal,  conservative  through  and 
through,  and  strive  to  do  our  work  in  peace,  to  cultivate 
our  fields,  and  to  enjoy,  without  let  or  hinderance,  the 
fruits  of  our  labor,'  were  the  words  that  greeted  me  at 
my  reception  in  Courcelles. 

"Well,  gentlemen,  to  enable  you  to  do  this,  and  to 
furnish  you  a  proof  that  I  am  honestly  anxious  to 
study  your  wishes,  I  have  made  a  home  among  you, 


1  This  has  reference  to  the 
fact  that  on  this  occasion  the  big 
autumn  army  manoeuvres  took 
place  in  the  province,  the  Kaiser 


being  accompanied  by  a  number 
of  smaller  German  sovereigns, 
among  them  being  the  kings  of 
Wiirtemberg  and  of  Saxony.— Ed. 

90 


THE   KAISER  AND  ALSACE-LORRAINE 

and  I  feel  happy  with  my  neighbors  in  Urville.  Take 
this  as  evidence  that  you  may  undisturbedly  pursue 
your  callings,  and  go  your  ways  without  interference. 
United  Germany  safeguards  your  peace,  and  German 
you  are  now  and  will  remain,  with  God's  help  and  that 
of  our  trusty  German  sword." 

On  September  9th,  but  a  few  days  later,  the  Kaiser 
entered  Strassburg  in  state,  and  was  received  by 
Mayor  Back  and  a  numerous  civic  delegation.  He 
thanked  them  likewise  for  the  warm  reception  given, 
and  then  continued: 

"If  I  were  to  consult  alone  my  affection  and  ad- 
miration for  your  beautiful  city,  my  stay  here  would 
be  a  longer  one.  How  often,  when  still  a  youngster 
have  I  sung  that  old  German  ballad: 

"'0  Strassburg,  O  Strassburg,  thou  wondrously  fair  town!' 

and  prayed  to  God  that  He  would  render  back  to  Ger- 
many this  wondrously  fair  town,  for  which  I  always 
have  felt  a  strong  sympathy. 

"This  desire,  I  am  happy  to  say,  has  since  been 
realized,  although  it  was  not  granted  to  me  to  help 
in  bringing  it  about.  I  esteem  Strassburg  one  of  the 
best  of  our  German  cities,  and  I  feel  convinced  that 
the  Strassburgers,  too,  are  glad'  of  their  reincorpora- 
tion with  the  German  Empire.  I  felt  that  very  plain- 
ly the  last  time  I  arrived  here,  quite  unexpectedly. 
As  I  then  rode  back  from  the  Polygon,  and  found  the 
streets  so  beautifully  decorated  within  the  short  time 
at  the  citizens'  disposal,  and  heard  the  shouts  of  wel- 
come, I  felt  sincerely  glad.  Even  if  I  cannot  stay 
here  longer  this  time,  I  hope  to  be  able  to  return  fre- 
quently, and  to  let  you  know  in  advance  when  I  am 

9i 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

coming.  I  like  to  be  among  you,  and  that  is  why 
I  now  have  a  shooting  lodge  near  by.  That  will  bring 
me  here  quite  often,  you  may  be  sure.  ..." 

On  May  9,  1898,  the  Kaiser  received  a  delegation  of 
the  communal  council  of  Metz,  headed  by  Councillor 
Cramer.  After  an  address,  in  which  the  town  thanked 
him  for  having  the  fortress  walls  and  interior  forts 
and  bastions  removed,1  and  thus  doing  away  with  an 
old  and  standing  complaint  of  the  population,  dating 
even  from  the  time  of  French  possession,  and  in  which 
loyalty  to  the  empire  was  also  expressed,  the  Kaiser 
made  a  reply.  He  said  he  was  gratified  at  the  ovations 
to  his  person  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  the  city.  The 
more  so  had  this  been  the  case,  he  added,  because  so 
many  of  the  old  citizens  had  had  a  share  in  the  festive 
reception  given  him.  He  promised  to  continue  to 
watch  over  the  interests  of  Metz. 

At  a  banquet  in  the  imperial  palace  of  Strassburg,  on 
September  5,  1899,  at  which  a  number  of  the  leading 
men  of  both  provinces  were  present,  the  Kaiser  said: 

"...  During  the  last  ten  years  of  my  reign  I  have 
closely  observed  things  here.  With  gratitude  and 
deep  feeling  I  can  corroborate  to  the  full  that  the  in- 
creasingly cordial  greeting  accorded  me  whenever  I 
come  to  the  Reichslande,  has  been  to  me  a  faithful 
barometer  whereby  to  gauge  the  evidence  that  the  two 
annexed  provinces  have  comprehended  what  they  have 
gained  by  their  incorporation  with  the  empire.  Where- 
ever  we  look — joyous  faces,  sedulous  and  remunerative 


1  This  was  done  because  since 
its  cession  to  Germany  the 
fortifications  of  Metz  have  been 
modernized,  a  belt  of  impreg- 
nable   forts    having    been    con- 

92 


structed  around  the  city  proper, 
thus  giving  the  rapidly  growing 
town  room  to  spread  in  every 
direction.  Metz  now  is  twice  as 
large  as  it  was  in  1870. — Ed. 


THE   KAISER  AND  ALSACE-LORRAINE 

toil,  rapid  development,  and  unmistakable  progress. 
Well,  gentlemen,  I  congratulate  you  on  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  Reichslande.  I  honor  the  sentiments  of 
the  older  generations,  who  found  it  hard  to  accustom 
themselves  to  the  new  order  of  things.  I  am  moved 
and  gratified  by  the  jubilant  reception  of  the  younger 
generation,  which  has  grown  up  under  the  banner 
of  the  empire.  .  .  ." 

The  Kaiser  took  special  pains  and  went  to  con- 
siderable expense  in  restoring  one  of  the  finest  and 
largest  ancient  castles  in  Alsace,  the  so-called  Hoh- 
konigsburg,  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  seat  of  a  leading 
noble  family.  He  purchased  the  site  and  the  dilapi- 
dated castle  itself  from  the  former  owners,  and  present- 
ed them  as  a  historical  monument  to  the  province,  em- 
ploying an  able  architect  in  drawing  up  plans  and 
specifications  for  its  restoration.  The  Alsatian  popula- 
tion was  much  pleased  with  this,  and  the  provincial 
chamber  appropriated  funds  to  aid  in  the  work.  On 
March  i,  1901,  the  Kaiser  sent  an  appreciative  tele- 
gram to  the  governor-general  of  the  Reichslande,  Prince 
Hohenlohe-Langenburg,  an  uncle  of  his  wife's,  thank- 
ing the  chamber  for  its  prompt  recognition  of  his 
friendly  intentions. 

Finally,  last  year,  the  Kaiser  and  the  Reichstag  both 
gave  the  culminating  proof  to  the  people  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine  that  Germany  now  had  full  confidence  in 
their  loyalty,  in  abolishing  the  last  remnant  of  ex- 
ceptional and  restrictive  legislation  up  to  that  time 
still  in  force  there.  The  Kaiser  on  that  occasion 
spoke  as  follows  to  a  delegation  made  up  of  several 
scores  of  the  most  prominent  inhabitants  of  both 
provinces : 

"To  have  the  'dictatur  paragraph'  rescinded  has 

93 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

been  for  many  years  the  wish  of  the  people  of  the 
Reichslande. '  The  wish,  in  fact,  antedates  my  accession 
to  the  throne.  That  I  did  not  grant  this  wish  sooner 
was  due  to  two  causes.  For  one  thing,  I  first  had  to  win 
for  myself  the  love  and  fidelity  of  my  subjects  as  well 
as  the  thorough  confidence  of  my  colleagues,  the  allied 
sovereigns  of  the  empire.  And  secondly,  outside  of 
Germany  I  found  on  my  accession  a  deep  and  abiding, 
though  unjustified,  distrust  of  me,  as  the  opinion  pre- 
vailed there  that  I  was  yearning  for  the  laurels  of  war- 
like successes.  To  meet  this  it  was  my  task  to  con- 
vince foreign  nations  that  the  new  German  Emperor 
and  the  empire  itself  were  earnestly  striving  to  preserve 
and  maintain  peace.  These  tasks  required  time  for 
their  realization.  The  German  people  know  by  this 
time  what  paths  I  am,  for  their  good,  resolved  to  tread. 
Germany's  sovereigns  aid  and  assist  me  faithfully  with 
counsel  and  by  their  acts.  Foreign  nations  have  now 
learned  to  count  upon  us  as  a  rocklike  guarantee  of 
peace,  instead  of  considering  us,  as  at  first,  as  inclined 
to  threaten  it.  Now  the  empire  has  been  consoli- 
dated in  its  internal  affairs,  and  we  have  attained  to 
a  respected  position  in  the  estimation  of  foreign  na- 
tions, and  thus,  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury, I  deem  the  time  ripe  when  I  may  fittingly  give 
to'  the  people  of  the  Reichslande  this  earnest  of  my 
imperial  friendship  and  confidence.  To  do  so  was 
all  the  easier  for  me,  since  during  my  reign  the  rela- 
tions between  the  people  of  these  provinces  and  my- 
self have  become  steadily  more  intimate  and  cordial, 


1  "Dictatur  paragraph"  was 
a  provision  in  the  administra- 
tive laws  governing  the  two 
provinces  which  gave,  under  ex- 
ceptional circumstances,  quasi 
dictatorial  powers  to  the  govern- 
or-general  and    his    subordinate 


authorities,  suspending  for  the 
time  being  the  laws  safeguarding 
in  the  remainder  of  the  empire 
the  liberties  of  the  people,  such 
as  those  relating  to  the  press,  ar- 
rests, court  procedure,  and  other 
things. — Ed. 


94 


THE   KAISER  AND   ALSACE-LORRAINE 

and  the  reception  given  me  on  my  visits  here  have 
likewise  grown  more  and  more  sympathetic.  Once 
more,  gentlemen,  let  me  thank  you  for  the  loyal 
attitude  of  the  Reichslande,  a  loyalty  upon  which  I 
absolutely  rely." 


VI 

THE  KAISER  AND  ENGLAND 

His  repeated  visits  to  England — Until  the  close  of  1895  his  pop- 
ularity in  England  unquestioned — The  Kaiser  and  the  Brit- 
ish navy — His  toast  at  the  Lord  Mayor's  banquet — Hinting 
at  Anglo-German  naval  alliance  —  Congo  incident  leads  to 
first  criticism  by  the  English  press  —  The  Kaiser's  Kriiger 
despatch  and  its  consequences — His  undiminished  hospitali- 
ty to  English  guests — Continuance  of  English  press  hostility 
— Dynastic  relations  nevertheless  consistently  pleasant — 
Views  of  Cecil  Rhodes  and  Sir  Edwards  Reed  on  the  Kaiser 
— Honoring  Lord  Roberts — The  Kaiser  and  the  death  of  the 
Queen. 

The  complete  veering  around  in  the  feelings  of  one 
nation  for  another  within  the  short  space  of  a  few  years 
has  seldom  been  illustrated  more  strikingly  and  inter- 
estingly than  in  the  recent  case  of  England  and  Ger- 
many. As  to  the  underlying  causes,  accounts  and  ex- 
planations differ,  though  it  may  be  taken  for  granted 
that  the  reason  so  often  given  as  the  sole  one,  at  least 
in  the  initial  stage,  for  this  quick  metamorphosis  from 
sincere  and  old-time  sympathy  to  outspoken  antipa- 
thy— namely,  the  Kaiser's  congratulatory  telegram  to 
"Oom"  Kriiger,  after  the  repulse  of  the  Jameson  raid 
— was  not  the  sole,  nor  even  the  leading  one.  The 
causes  lie  deeper. 

When  William  II.  attained  to  the  reign,  Anglo-Ger- 
man relations,  especially  those  existing  between  the 
two  dynasties,  were  very  pleasant  ones.  A  short  time 
after  the  death  of  the  old  Emperor,  when  her  son-in- 

96 


THE   KAISER   AND   ENGLAND 

law,  Frederick  III.,  had  ascended  the  throne  for  his 
brief  span,  Queen  Victoria,  who  had  shunned  Berlin 
during  the  long  reign  of  William  I.,  whom  she  had  re- 
garded with  rather  a  cold  feeling,  came  there  on  a 
somewhat  lengthy  visit.  Between  her  and  Bismarck  a 
meeting  and  a  long  conversation  took  place,  and  this 
gave  rise  to  all  sorts  of  political  gossip  and  surmises. 
Nothing,  however,  has  ever  become  public  about  the 
real  topics  at  this  interview,  and  Bismarck  has  even 
avoided  mention  of  it  in  his  Memoirs. 

In  November,  1888,  the  Anglo-German  agreement 
was  ratified  about  the  disturbances  in  East  Africa,  lead- 
ing to  a  joint  blockade  of  all  that  portion  of  the  East 
African  coast  belonging  to  the  territories  claimed  by 
the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar. 

In  the  following  year  the  young  Kaiser,  followed 
by.  a  German  naval  squadron,  paid  his  respects  at 
the  English  court.  The  interchange  of  civilities  and 
speeches  on  that  occasion  has  been  mentioned  else- 
where. 

Some  months  afterwards,  while  the  Kaiser  witnessed 
the  wedding  festivities  of  his  sister  Sophia  in  Athens, 
he  paid  a  visit,  on  October  30,  1889,  on  board  the 
British  ships  lying  at  anchor  in  the  Pirasus.  A 
toast  by  Admiral  Hopkins  was  replied  to  by  him  as  fol- 
lows: 

" .  .  .  It  might  be  supposed  that  my  interest  in  the 
British  navy  dates  only  from  my  appointment  as  Brit- 
ish admiral.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  From  my  earliest 
youth  on,  even  while  I  ran  about  the  Portsmouth  navy- 
yard  as  a  small  boy,  I  have  felt  a  sincere  interest  in  the 
British  navy.  My  inspection  to-day  of  your  ships  was 
a  pleasure  to  me,  and  I  congratulate  you  on  their  con- 
dition and  looks.  Nelson's  famous  motto  is  no  longer 
needed.  You  all  do  your  duty,  and  we,  a  young  naval 
7  97 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

nation,  go  to  England  to  study  and  learn  from  her 
navy." 

The  imperial  couple,  in  1891,  went  to  England  to- 
gether, and  this  time  it  was  not  only  the  court  they 
visited  but  the  nation.  On  July  10th  they  accepted 
an  invitation  from  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  and 
after  having  been  very  flatteringly  welcomed,  the  Kai- 
ser said,  at  the  Guildhall  banquet,  in  answer  to  a  toast : 

"...  I  have  always  felt  at  home  in  this  charming 
country,  as  the  grandson  of  a  queen  whose  name  will 
live  forever  as  a  noble  character,  and  as  a  lady  who  is 
great  through  the  wisdom  of  her  counsels,  and  whose 
reign,  moreover,  has  brought  permanent  blessings  to 
England.  Besides,  the  same  blood  flows  in  English 
and  German  veins.  Following  the  example  of  my 
grandfather  and  of  my  never-to-be-forgotten  father,  I 
shall  always,  so  far  as  in  me  lies,  cherish  the  historic 
friendship  between  the  two  nations  which  often,  as  your 
lordship  remarked,  were  seen  fighting  shoulder  to  shoul- 
der in  defence  of  freedom  and  justice.  I  feel  encour- 
aged in  my  task  when  I  see  that  wise  and  able  men,  as 
I  see  them  assembled  here,  do  justice  to  the  seriousness 
and  honesty  of  my  intentions.  My  aim,  above  all,  is 
the  preservation  of  peace;  for  peace  alone  can  inspire 
us  with  the  confidence  required  for  the  normal  devel- 
opment of  science,  commerce,  and  art.  Only  so  long 
as  peace  lasts  can  we  devote  ourselves  earnestly  and 
freely  to  the  great  problems  whose  solution  in  fairness 
and  equity  I  regard  as  the  most  pressing  need  of  our 
time. 

"You  may,  therefore,  rest  assured  that  I  shall  con- 
tinue to  do  my  best  to  foster  the  good  relations  between 
Germany  and  the  other  nations,  and  that  I  shall  always 
be  found  ready  to  join  them  in  common  effort  for  peace- 

98 


THE   KAISER  AND   ENGLAND 

f  ul  progress,  friendly  intercourse,  and  the  promotion  of 
civilization." 

The  next  year  the  Kaiser  was  in  England  again,  at- 
tending the  Cowes  regatta  from  July  30th  till  August 
9th.  He  participated  in  person  in  the  yacht-race  for 
the  Queen's  cup. 

On  January  22,  1893,  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  paid  a 
visit  to  the  imperial  couple  in  Berlin,  and  at  the  lunch- 
eon given  in  his  honor  at  the  castle,  the  German  Em- 
peror spoke  in  a  sensational  way.  He  praised  the  Eng- 
lish navy  as  the  unapproached  model  of  other  nations, 
and  especially  of  the  German,  and  then  continued: 

"...  Although  the  German  navy  is  primarily  intend- 
ed to  safeguard  and  preserve  us  peace,  yet  I  believe, 
if  the  time  should  come,  it  will  do  its  full  duty  in 
battle.  And  if  it  should  happen  that  the  English  and 
the  German  navies  fight  jointly  against  a  common  foe, 
the  memorable  watchword,  '  England  expects  every 
man  to  do  his  duty,'  which  the  greatest  naval  hero  of 
England  gave  out  before  the  battle  of  Trafalgar,  will 
find  an  echo  in  the  patriotic  hearts  of  the  German 
navy." 

When  the  news  reached  him  of  the  total  loss  of 
H.  M.  S.  Victoria,  with  Admiral  Sir  George  Tryon  and 
four  hundred  seamen  on  board,  the  Kaiser  sent  a  well- 
worded  telegram  of  condolence  to  the  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty.  "As  a  sign  of  our  sorrow  I  have  ordered 
the  British  flag  half-mast,  side  by  side  with  our  own, 
on  board  of  my  own  ships,"  he  wrote. 

On  August  1,  1893,  Emperor  William  again  partici- 
pated in  the  Cowes  regatta,  competing  with  his  own 
yacht  for  the  Queen's  cup.  Several  friendly  arrange- 
ments  in   defining  accurately   the   relative   "interest 

99 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

spheres"  of  England  and  Germany  in  West  and  East 
Africa  were  ratified  during  that  year. 

The  Queen  appointed  her  imperial  grandson  honor- 
ary chief  of  the  Royal  Dragoons  on  February  24,  1894. 
When  a  delegation  of  this  regiment  came  to  Berlin,  on 
June  7th,  the  Kaiser  said: 

"...  Another  tie  has  been  added  to  the  many 
which  for  long  years  have  existed  between  the  British 
and  the  Prussian  armies." 

He  was  again  in  Cowes  on  August  5th,  following. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Baltic  Canal,  relations  between 
the  two  countries  were  still  very  pleasant.  On  June 
26,  1895,  on  board  the  British  battle-ship  Royal  Sov- 
ereign, in  Kiel  harbor,  in  the  midst  of  the  festivities  in- 
cident to  the  dedication  of  the  interoceanic  canal,  the 
Kaiser  made  a  speech,  saying: 

" .  .  .  As  soon  as  the  news  reached  me  that  the 
Channel  fleet  was  to  be  sent  here  to  the  opening  of  the 
Kaiser  William  Canal,  I  wired  the  glad  tidings  to  all 
my  officers,  and  everywhere  the  news  was  received  with 
joy. 

"...  Since  our  own  navy  exists  we  have  earnestly 
striven  to  form  our  ideas  according  to  yours,  and  to 
learn  in  every  way  from  you.  The  history  of  the  Brit- 
ish navy  is  just  as  familiar  to  our  officers  and  men  as  it 
is  to  you.  You  referred  to  my  title  as  British  admiral. 
I  can  assure  you  that  it  was  one  of  the  brightest  days 
of  my  life,  the  day  on  which  I  inspected  your  Mediter- 
ranean fleet  and  saw  my  flag  hoisted  for  the  first  time 
on  board  the  Dreadnaught.  .  .  .  We  are  working  as 
hard  and  fast  as  we  can  in  our  navy,  and  every  man 
tries  to  do  his  duty,  as  Nelson  remarked  in  his  last 
speech." 

100 


THE   KAISER  AND   ENGLAND 

It  was  but  a  few  weeks  later,  however,  that  the  first 
disturbing  elements  crept  into  Anglo-German  relations 
In  August  the  Kaiser  again  visited  England,  to  take 
part  in  the  regattas,  and  on  the  nth  made  a  call  upon 
Lord  Lonsdale.  Just  then  the  English  press  began  to 
speak  of  the  Kaiser  in  a  tone  which  was  very  unpleas- 
antly felt  in  Germany.  The  English  papers  stated, 
in  substance,  that  hitherto  the  Kaiser  had  behaved  in 
a  more  or  less  friendly  manner  towards  England,  but 
that  of  late  the  relations  between  the  two  countries 
had  perceptibly  suffered,  and  that  it  was  to  be  hoped 
the  Kaiser  would  show  a  readier  spirit  where  the  in- 
terests of  England  were  at  stake.  This  outburst,  al- 
most unanimous,  was  solely  occasioned  by  the  fact  that 
Germany,  in  conjunction  with  other  interested  powers, 
had  protested  against  a  treaty  which  England  was 
about  to  conclude  with  the  Congo  State,  and  by  which, 
if  it  had  gone  through,  not  only  Germany's  but  the 
interests  of  other  powers  in  West  Africa  would  have 
been  seriously  injured.  From  that  time  on,  directly 
due  to  an  incident  of  a  trivial  nature,  dates  the  begin- 
ning of  the  mutual  animosity  which  during  the  next 
succeeding  years — in  fact,  ever  since — has  marked  the 
unofficial  relations  of  the  two  countries,  assuming  at 
times,  indeed,  the  character  of  downright  hostility,  and 
threatening  international  peace. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  go  into  this  subject  at  any 
length,  and  no  attempt  is  made  here  to  apportion  lights 
and  shadows  evenly  between  the  two  nations  in  the 
matter.  But  one  thing  seems  very  clear :  the  Kaiser,  for 
all  his  English  blood  and  his  undoubted  English  sym- 
pathies, never  quite  fathomed  the  English  character, 
and  more  particularly  the  ticklish  chapter  of  British 
susceptibilities.  For  if  he  had,  it  may  be  stated  with 
absolute  certainty,  he  would  have  penned  neither  the 
famous  despatch  to  "Oom  Paul,"  nor  done   several 

IOI 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

other  things  which,  while  not  in  the  slightest  benefit- 
ing Germany  and  her  tangible  interests,  were  sure  to 
arouse  or  to  inflame  anew  British  rancor  and  ill-will. 
That  he,  the  man  who  valued  English  friendship  far 
more  highly  than  did  any  of  his  counsellors  and  min- 
isters in  Germany,  was  the  one  who  was  personally 
responsible  for  several  of  the  bitterest  outbreaks  of 
British  spleen,  shows  conclusively,  to  any  one  willing 
to  see  patent  facts,  that  these  "slips"  of  his  were 
owing,  not  to  fell  purpose,  but  to  his  deficient  compre- 
hension of  English  sentiment. 

The  events  in  South  Africa  in  December,  1895,  and 
later  on,  are  still  fresh  in  the  public  mind.  On  Decem- 
ber 24,  1895,  the  German  consul  in  Pretoria  had  sent 
the  first  alarming  news  about  doings  in  Johannesburg. 
On  December  30th,  the  Germans  resident  in  Pretoria 
asked  the  Kaiser's  protection,  and  the  German  consul 
there  requested  that  a  detachment  of  German  marines 
be  sent  from  the  German  cruiser  Seeadler,  in  Delagoa 
Bay,  on  to  Pretoria.  On  New  Year's  Day,  1896,  rep- 
resentations were  made  in  London  by  the  German 
ambassador,  and  on  the  same  day  the  German  con- 
sul in  Pretoria  cabled  the  news  of  the  raid  by  Dr. 
Jameson  and  the  troops  of  the  Chartered  Company. 
After  the  defeat  of  the  raiders  at  Krugersdorp,  on  Jan- 
uary 3,  1896,  the  Kaiser  cabled  to  President  Kriiger: 

"I  congratulate  you  most  heartily  upon  the  fact 
that  you  have  succeeded,  without  appealing  to  the  aid 
of  friendly  powers,  and  solely  relying  upon  your  own 
people  and  energy,  in  overcoming  the  armed  crowds 
which  had  entered  your  country  as  disturbers  of  the 
peace,  and  in  restoring  peace  and  the  independence  of 
your  country  as  against  attacks  from  without." 

This  telegram,  and  more  particularly  the  phrasing  of 

102 


THE   KAISER  AND   ENGLAND 

it — the  repeated  use  of  the  word  "your  country,"  and 
the  mention  of  its  "independence"  and  of  the  "aid  of 
friendly  powers " — occasioned  an  indignation  in  Eng- 
land which,  avalanche-like,  gathered  with  the  events 
of  each  new  day  more  momentum  and  force.  In  Lon- 
don, anti-German  manifestations  took  place,  and  Ger- 
man places  of  business  were  mobbed.  The  English 
press  indulged  in  scoffs,  gibes,  caricatures,  and  an 
amount  of  plain  speaking  at  the  expense  of  the  German 
Emperor  which  took  both  him  and  the  German  people 
by  surprise,  and  which  bred  there  an  amount  of  wrath 
all  the  greater,  as  with  the  muzzled  condition  of  the 
German  press  such  terse  and  frank  comment  on  the 
crowned  head  of  a  friendly  nation  is  altogether  un- 
known. The  Kaiser  himself,  aware  of  the  absolute 
freedom  of  the  English  press,  paid  apparently  no  heed 
to  these  attacks  in  printer's  ink,  and,  while  the  English 
press  was  still  daily  ringing  with  bitter  abuse  of  him, 
he  received  the  British  Institution  of  Naval  Architects, 
who  were  on  a  visit  to  Germany,  on  May  27th,  with 
perfect  courtesy,  and  even  so  arranged  things  as  to 
make  their  three  weeks'  stay  as  pleasant  and  profitable 
as  possible.  On  June  10th,  during  a  session  of  the  soci- 
ety as  guests  of  the  Technical  High-School  at  Charlot- 
tenburg,  near  Berlin,  he  presided.  On  June  12th  he  in- 
vited them  to  a  unique  military  spectacle  in  the  park 
of  the  New  Palace  in  Potsdam,  brilliantly  illuminated 
in  their  honor,  and  assisted  again  in  person  at  it. 

All  through  1897  the  English  press  continued  una- 
bated its  campaign  against  Germany  and  her  Kaiser, 
and  the  German  press,  which  at  first  had  been  slow 
to  respond,  now  almost  equalled  their  foe  in  virulence 
and  persistency.  In  June,  on  being  interpellated  in 
Parliament,  Colonial  Secretary  Chamberlain  admitted 
that  better  relations  with  Germany  were  desirable. 

However,  the  intimate  and  cordial  relations  between 

103 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

the  two  courts  suffered  not  at  all  during  this  time, 
but  the  Kaiser  in  so  far  minded  adverse  public  opinion 
in  England  as  to  discontinue  his  annual  visits  there. 

Nevertheless,  on  September  4,  1897,  at  a  Sedan  Day 
celebration  in  Hanover,  upon  Waterloo  Square,  the 
Kaiser  rode  into  the  centre  of  the  enormous  hollow 
square  formed  by  the  large  body  of  troops,  and  de- 
livered himself  of  an  address,  in  which  he  spoke  in  a 
very  friendly  and  appreciative  way  of  England.  He 
said  that,  looking  at  the  Waterloo  memorial  column 
in  the  middle  of  the  square,  he  was  reminded  that  at 
that  great  and  decisive  battle  Germans  and  English 
had  fought  like  heroes,  side  by  side  and  as  true  com- 
panions-in-arms,  and  a  few  hours  ago  news  had  come 
to  him  of  another  great  victory  which  the  English 
army,  contending  against  a  far  more  numerous  foe, 
had  won  in  Africa.  He  ended  by  proposing  cheers  for 
the  Queen.  The  victory  here  mentioned  by  the  Kaiser 
was  Kitchener's  over  the  Mahdi. 

During  1898,  however,  and  for  some  time  after,  a 
part  of  the  English  press  began  once  more  to  lean 
towards  the  Kaiser  and  Germany.  On  February  12, 
1898,  for  example,  the  Saturday  Review  contained  a 
long  and  appreciative  article  on  the  Kaiser,  partic- 
ularly viewing  him  in  the  light  of  a  husband,  father, 
and  private  person,  lauding  the  purity  and  the  re- 
posefulness  of  his  family  life,  and  according  him  high 
praise  for  his  tactful  attitude  at  the  Queen's  jubilee, 
and  for  his  homely  and  thoroughly  unaffected  hospi- 
tality, shown  on  various  occasions  to  English  sports- 
men at  the  Kiel  regattas,  and  to  other  English  guests. 

A  short  time  after  this,  when  Prince  Henry,  the 
Kaiser's  brother,  paid  a  visit  to  his  grandmother,  the 
Queen,  similar  press  voices  were  lifted  up  in  Eng- 
land, and  even  the  radical  Daily  Chronicle  said  there 
was  no  reason  to  receive  this  prince  as  a  foe,  nor  for 

104 


THE    KAISER   AND    ENGLAND 

English  papers  constantly  to  go  out  of  their  way  to 
insult  the  Kaiser  as  if  he  were  ripe  for  the  insane 
asylum.  Some  of  the  passages  in  this  article,  which 
created  at  the  time  something  of  a  sensation,  said : 

"...  Kaiser  William  will  not  easily  forget  the  English  vul- 
garities of  which  he  has  been  the  victim.  .  .  .  The  Kaiser  has 
accomplished  great  things.  One  of  them  was  to  weld  Germany 
into  the  most  compact  and  dirigible  entity  on  the  European 
continent.  .  .  .  He  has  never  suffered  a  serious  defeat,  and  the 
German  Empire  has  steadily  progressed  under  him.  Such  is 
the  restless,  picturesque  career  of  Kaiser  William.  ..." 

During  the  Kaiser's  Palestine  trip,  in  1898,  the 
English  press  repeatedly  commented  in  rather  hostile 
fashion.  But  that  did  not  hinder  the  Kaiser,  on  No- 
vember 15th,  from  sojourning,  for  a  brief  space,  in 
Malta  on  his  return  voyage. 

But  it  was  not  until  the  next  year,  1899,  that  the 
Kaiser  resumed  his  former  visits  to  England,  although 
this  time  he  did  not  touch  London,  and  confined  him- 
self strictly  to  a  short  stay  with  the  Queen  in  Wind- 
sor, and  relatively  little  comment  appeared  in  the  press 
about  it. 

In  April,  1899,  he  received  Sir  Cecil  Rhodes,  who  had 
requested  a  hearing  to  submit  to  the  German  monarch 
a  detailed  statement  of  his  great  project,  the  Cape-to- 
Cairo  telegraph  line,  which  necessarily  had  to  cross 
German  territory  in  East  Africa.  Rhodes  said  about 
this  interview: 

"At  first  there  had  been  great  coolness  on  the  Kaiser's  part, 
but  the  disagreeable  feeling  thus  engendered  in  me  soon  yield- 
ed to  genuine  admiration  when  I  noticed  in  this  monarch  keen 
interest  in  everything  colonial,  coupled  with  an  amazing  ac- 
quaintance with  every  cognate  subject,  even  down  to  the 
minutest  details.  My  audience  of  three-quarter  of  an  hour's 
length  was  gone  like  a  flash,  especially  as  conversation  did  not 
lag  for  a  second,  and  as  the  Kaiser  developed  in  his  questions 
diplomatic  skill  of  the  first  order." 

I05 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

Besides,  Rhodes  was  full  of  appreciation  of  the 
Kaiser's  amiability  at  the  dinner  given  by  Sir  Franc 
Lascelles,  the  British  ambassador  in  Berlin,  saying 
that  the  contrast  was  striking— at  the  previous  au- 
dience every  inch  an  emperor,  and  at  the  dinner  full 
of  human  kindness. 

Another  journalistic  contribution,  likewise  calculated 
to  correct  in  the  English  mind  erroneous  and  precon- 
ceived opinions  regarding  the  Kaiser,  was  that  by  Sir 
Edwards  Reed,  the  eminent  English  naval  architect. 
From  his  long  account  may  be  quoted  the  following 
passages : 

"...  What  struck  me  most  was  the  surprisingly  accurate 
and  detailed  knowledge  the  Kaiser  showed  even  as  to  minor 
points — points  which  escape  the  horizon  of  other  responsible 
statesmen.  ...  It  was  most  apparent  to  me  in  naval  lore. 
When  we  touched  a  point  which  is  indeed  of  the  most  far- 
reaching  importance  in  naval  warfare,  I  discovered  to  my  un- 
bounded astonishment  that  the  Kaiser's  personal  information 
on  the  topic  was  more  extensive  and  more  uprto-date  than 
either  my  own  or  that  of  the  secretary  of  his  navy.  And  he 
had  acquired  this  knowledge  by  actual  and  practical  experi- 
ence. ...  I  very  much  doubt  whether  any  one  of  our  admirals 
is  equally  well  informed  about  the  minutest  part  of  a  ship's 
machinery  or  appurtenances.  ...  In  any  case,  it  is  a  fact  that 
the  raison  d'etre  for  every  piece  and  part  of  a  modern  vessel 
had  to  be  fully  demonstrated  to  the  Kaiser  before  he  would 
admit  of  its  necessity,  and  his  view  was  clearly  that  no  im- 
provement should  be  omitted  merely  because  of  a  prejudice  or 
indifference. 

"There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Emperor  William  II.  has  recog- 
nized with  singular  lucidity  the  value  of  sea-power  for  an  em- 
pire like  his.  .  .  .  His  motive  in  this  striving  for  sea-power  is 
quite  simply  this,  that  the  German  Empire  has  too  many  great 
and  distantly  located  interests  to  enable  it  to  retain  its  leading 
position  without  a  reasonable  expansion  of  its  maritime  forces ; 
still  less  can  it  indulge  without  them  the  colonial  aspirations 
and  the  capacity  for  colonizing  which  the  German  people  un- 
doubtedly possess.  .  .  .  He  perceives,  perhaps  more  clearly  than 
anybody  else,  that  great  nations,  at  least  those  of  Teutonic 

106 


THE   KAISER   AND   ENGLAND 

stock,  can  no  longer  remain  locked  within  their  own  narrow 
boundary-lines.  For  the  protection  of  its  rapidly  expanding 
commerce  beyond  the  seas  the  empire  requires  a  strong  navy, 
but  I  will  admit  the  possibility  that  in  enlarging  his  navy  the 
Kaiser  keeps  an  eye  both  on  his  neighbor  to  the  east  and  to  the 
west.  As  an  Englishman,  I  confess  that  the  sea  expansion  of 
any  other  nation  but  my  own  cannot  be  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence, for  it  threatens,  in  any  case,  a  supremacy  of  which  I  am 
not  a  little  proud.  But  as  an  Englishman,  I  also  confess  that 
the  threatening  of  this  supremacy  proceeding  from  Germany 
is  a  perfectly  legitimate  and  honorable  one,  such,  in  fact,  that 
Great  Britain  may  regard  it  in  a  quite  friendly  sense." 

The  article  then  proceeds  to  discuss  interestingly  the 
two  constitutional  forms  of  government,  as  illustrated 
by  Germany  and  England,  and  then  comes  to  speak 
of  the  Kaiser's  telegram  to  Kruger.     He  says: 

"Telegrams  like  that  of  the  Kaiser's  are  the  work  of  a  mo- 
ment, and  they  ought  not  to  be  placed  in  the  same  category 
with  diplomatic  or  international  negotiations." 

It  was  on  October  16,  1900,  that  the  Anglo-German 
agreement  was  ratified  regarding  the  "open-door" 
principle  in  China.  Its  purpose  was  to  hinder  any 
European  or  Asiatic  power,  taking  advantage  of  the 
momentary  complications  in  China,  to  acquire  new  or 
extend  old  territorial  rights  there,  and  to  keep  the 
harbors  and  rivers  of  the  huge  empire  open  for  the 
trade  of  the  world.  During  the  "  Boxer"  rebellion  and 
the  subsequent  troubles  in  China,  leading  to  European 
and  American  armed  intervention,  British  and  German 
soldiers  fought  together  and  remained  good  comrades, 
English  correspondents  and  officers  not  stinting  their 
praise  of  German  discipline  and  valor. 

The  beginning  of  the  year  1901  saw  the  death  of 
Queen  Victoria,  and  the  Kaiser,  shortly  before  her  end, 
arrived  at  her  bedside  in  Osborne  on  January  19th.  He 
had  hastened,  immediately  after  receiving  alarming 

107 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

news  from  England,  from  the  northernmost  end  of 
Prussia,  where  the  bicentenary  of  the  foundation  of 
the  Prussian  Kingdom  had  been  celebrated  with  great 
eclat,  to  Berlin,  and  thence  without  loss  of  time  to 
England.  This  fact,  and  his  whole  demeanor  during 
and  after  the  sad  event,  won  him  back,  for  a  time  at 
least,  the  hearts  of  the  English  nation.  Even  the 
bitter  and  consistent  animosity  shown  by  the  German 
people  to  England  during  the  entire  duration  of  the 
Boer  war  has  not  materially  changed  this  fact  so  far 
as  the  personality  of  the  Kaiser  is  concerned.  The 
Kaiser  intensified  this  feeling  by  the  great  honors  he 
showed,  in  the  face  of  an  adverse  and  unanimous 
public  opinion  in  Germany,  to  Lord  Roberts  for  able 
generalship  exhibited  during  the  Boer  war.  He  issued 
an  army  order  from  Osborne,  in  which  he  said : 

"  The  death  of  my  beloved,  reverenced,  and  unforget- 
table grandmother,  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  Empress  of  India,  has  overwhelmed  me  and 
my  house  with  mourning.  I  know  that  my  army 
shares  the  bitter  loss  which  I  have  suffered.  .  .  ." 

On  January  27th,  King  Edward  appointed  the  Kaiser 
British  field  -  marshal,  whereupon  the  latter  sent  to 
Lord  Salisbury,  the  British  premier,  a  despatch,  where- 
in he  said : 

"The  King,  my  august  uncle,  has  conferred  upon 
me  the  rank  of  field-marshal  in  his  army,  and  has  sent 
me  news  that  this  appointment  is  to  become  known 
on  my  birthday.  I  hasten  to  say  to  you  that  I  value 
very  highly  this  extraordinary  proof  of  his  Majesty's 
affection  for  my  person.  I  rejoice  at  the  thought  that 
henceforth  I  shall  belong  to  the  highest  officers  in  his 
Majesty's  army." 

108 


THE    KAISER   AND   ENGLAND 

And  in  a  similar  spirit  he  telegraphed  to  Lord 
Roberts,  the  chief  commander  against  the  Boers. 

After  the  obsequies  of  Queen  Victoria,  at  which  the 
Kaiser  was  greeted  by  the  English  public  with  evident 
consideration  and  sympathy,  a  farewell  dinner  was 
given  by  the  English  royal  family,  at  which  King  Ed- 
ward spoke  warmly  of  the  Kaiser.     The  latter  replied : 

"  Nothing  has  given  me  greater  satisfaction  than  that 
it  was  permitted  me  to  be  present  with  my  honored 
relatives  here  during  the  last  moments  of  the  great 
and  noble  life  of  my  beloved  grandmother,  for  whom 
I  have  cherished  since  my  earliest  youth  sentiments 
of  the  sincerest  affection  and  veneration.  I  thank  his 
Majesty  the  King  for  having  granted  me  the  rank  of  a 
field-marshal  in  the  British  army.  This  honor  enables 
me  to  wear  the  same  uniform  with  the  Duke  of  Well- 
ington and  Lord  Roberts,  and  it  is  precisely  this 
compliment  which  will  be  appreciated  the  most  keenly 
by  my  own  army.  I  reciprocate  most  cordially  those 
sincere  sentiments  which  your  Majesty  entertains  in 
regard  to  the  relations  between  our  two  empires." 

To  the  Lord  Mayor,  too,  Kaiser  William  said,  in 
parting,  some  touching  words  regarding  his  feelings 
for  the  late  Queen,  and  that  the  sad  yet  equally  im- 
posing spectacle  at  the  obsequies  in  London  had  made 
a  very  deep  impression  on  him. 

At  the  dedication  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  forming  part 
of  the  ancient  Marienburg,  the  centre  of  the  order  of 
St.  John,  in  the  province  of  West  Prussia,  the  Kaiser 
sent  an  appreciative  telegram  to  King  Edward,  thank- 
ing him  for  delegating  to  the  ceremony  distinguished 
British  knights  of  the  order,  and  full  of  interesting 
historical  references  to  former  Anglo -German  co-op- 
eration within  the  order,  especially  during  the  time 

109 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

of  the  (English)  King  Henry  IV.,  who  had  fought  with 
the  German  knights  against  the  then  pagan  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  the  Prussian  province. 

At  King  Edward's  coronation,  on  August  9,  1902, 
the  Kaiser  was  ably  represented  by  his  brother,  Prince 
Henry,  and  by  the  Princess  Henry. 


VII 

THE  KAISER  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 

How  his  views  regarding  this  country  underwent  a  complete 
change  by  the  Spanish-American  War — His  reply  to  the  late 
Ambassador  Phelps — "His  telegram  at  the  Columbus  cele- 
bration— Condoling  with  us  on  the  loss  of  the  Maine — The 
Coghlan  incident — Interchange  of  telegrams  between  him 
and  Presidents  McKinley  and  Roosevelt  —  Prince  Henry's 
visit  —  Presentation  of  a  statue  of  Frederick  the  Great — 
Some  interesting  remarks  by  the  Kaiser  touching  recent 
political  and  commercial  development  here. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  so  alert  a  mind  as  the 
Kaiser's  would  leave  a  big  nation  like  ours,  looming 
so  portentously  in  the  horizon,  out  of  his  reckoning. 
And,  indeed,  he  has  not  done  so.  Like  all  political 
leaders  of  Europe  who  possess  a  clear  and  far  vision, 
he,  too,  observed  with  growing  interest,  not  unmixed 
with  awe  and  apprehension,  the  marvellously  rapid  and 
yet  steady  and  perfectly  normal  rise  of  this  country  as 
an  eminent  factor  in  the  world's  political  and  commer- 
cial expansion  and  progress.  Even  while  still  plain 
Prince  William,  and  having  at  the  time  no  prospects  of 
coming  to  the  throne  until  mature  in  years,  this  country 
interested  him  mightily.  But  it  was  more  the  striking 
and  picturesque  contrast  it  afforded  with  European 
conditions,  and  with  the  hoary,  old-world  traditions, 
than  for  its  own  sake  that  it  drew  his  attention.  From 
twenty  to  thirty  he  diligently  studied  American  life  and 
ideals  from  books,  the  latter  mostly  selected  or  made 

in 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

accessible  to  him  by  his  old-time  instructor,  Professor 
Hinzpeter.  He  was  wont  to  say  that  he  regretted  ex- 
ceedingly that  circumstances  forbade  him  to  undertake 
an  extensive  and  instructive  tour  of  the  United  States. 
If  anything,  this  regret  has  become  keener  since  his 
accession  to  the  throne. 

He  contemplated  seriously  several  times  making  a 
"  study  trip  "  to  the  United  States.  The  first  time  was 
in  1893,  when  he  earnestly  desired  visiting  the  Chicago 
Exposition,  and  afterwards  making  a  circular  tour 
through  the  country.  The  chief  German  commissioner 
for  the  exposition,  Wermuth,  after  his  return  from  a  first 
preliminary  visit  to  the  fair  grounds  and  to  New  York, 
in  a  long  special  audience  with  the  Kaiser,  encouraged 
the  idea,  and  gave  in  detail  all  the  reasons  which  in  his 
judgment  spoke  for  and  also  against  such  an  enterprise. 
But  the  German  ambassador  in  Washington  sided 
against  Wermuth's  views,  and  the  idea  was  dropped. 
Again  he  reverted  to  the  plan  in  1902,  but  it  was  once 
more  successfully  represented  to  him  that  in  this  coun- 
try crowned  heads  could  under  no  circumstances  be  so 
closely  and  securely  protected  against  street  abuse,  mob 
insults,  etc.,  and  still  less  against  hostile  and  perhaps 
scurrilous  press  comment,  as  is  the  case  in  European 
countries.  The  same  reasons  held  good  when,  still 
more  recently,  the  idea  was  broached  to  him  to  prom- 
ise a  visit  to  the  forthcoming  St.  Louis  Exposition. 
But  he  at  least  overcame  these  objections  in  so  far  as 
to  send  his  brother,  Prince  Henry,  here  a  year  ago. 

The  Kaiser's  views  about  this  country  were,  despite 
the  large  number  of  serious  and  more  or  less  truthful 
books  he  had  read  on  America,  nevertheless,  rather 
crude  and  faulty  in  essential  respects  until  and  even 
after  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain  in  1898.  Es- 
pecially had  he  been  misled  by  his  advisers  and  misin- 
formed by  his  diplomatic  and  military  representatives 

112 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 

abroad  in  the  matter  of  the  naval  and  military  readi- 
ness of  this  republic,  of  the  warlike  and  ambitious  spirit 
living  in  the  masses  of  the  American  people.  That 
war,  however,  opened  his  eyes.  It  brought  within  his 
ken  a  wealth  of  amazing  facts  to  which  his  immediate 
entourage  and  the  Conservative  party  in  Prussia,  both 
looking  askance  at  the  Kaiser's  juster  appreciation  of 
the  resources  and  latent  power  of  this  republic,  had  for 
years  systematically  tried  to  blind  him.  Since  Dewey's 
dashing  victory  in  Manila  Bay,  since  the  day  of  San- 
tiago and  the  utter  annihilation  of  Cervera's  fleet, 
William  II.  of  Germany  holds  a  largely  modified  opin- 
ion of  these  United  States,  and  he  is  not  likely  to  com- 
mit any  more  severe  and  far-reaching  blunders  in  his 
estimate  of  this  nation  or  in  his  dealings  with  us.  The 
Venezuelan  incident,  at  this  hour  still  engrossing  the 
attention  and  the  jealousies  of  the  American  people, 
will  be  found,  when  the  whole  truth  about  the  Kaiser's 
part  in  it  will  become  known,  to  have  been  a  matter  in 
which  he  has  been  more  sinned  against  than  sinning. 
When  the  Kaiser  came  to  the  throne,  in  1888,  rela- 
tions between  this  country  and  Germany  were  excep- 
tionally pleasant  ones.  No  cloud  of  any  kind  seemed 
to  threaten  them.  And  when,  in  September,  1889,  a 
new  American  ambassador,  Mr.  WTilliam  Walter  Phelps, 
came  to  Berlin,  and  handed  the  Kaiser,  on  the  26th  of 
that  month,  his  credentials,  these  friendly  relations 
were  dwelt  upon  by  the  monarch  in  his  reply  to  Mr. 
Phelps.     He  said  on  that  occasion : 

"  I  have  sincerely  rejoiced  at  the  words  with  which 
you,  Mr.  Ambassador,  introduced  yourself  here.  I  do 
not  doubt  for  a  moment  that  you  will  always  be  suc- 
cessful in  your  endeavors  to  perpetuate  those  century- 
old  good  relations  which  have  existed  unbrokenly  be- 
tween your  own  country  and  my  empire, 
s  113 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

"  From  my  boyhood  up  I  have  had  great  admiration 
for  the  powerfully  progressing  commonwealth  which 
you  are  to  represent  here,  and  the  study  of  your  history 
in  peace  and  war  has  always  had  a  peculiar  interest 
for  me.  Among  the  many  remarkable  characteristics 
which  your  countrymen  can  justly  claim,  it  is  especially 
their  spirit  of  enterprise,  of  order,  and  their  inventive- 
ness which  have  drawn  upon  them  the  attention  of  the 
world.  The  Germans  feel  attracted  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  all  the  more  as  they  are  intimately  allied 
with  the  North  Americans  by  the  manifold  ties  which 
race  affinity  brings  about.  The  predominant  senti- 
ment of  both  nations  is  that  of  tried  friendship  and 
good-will,  and  the  future  will  only  strengthen  the  cord- 
iality of  these  relations." 

In  1892  the  Kaiser — and  the  American  press  at  that 
time  was  not  slow  to  point  it  out— as  the  only  one  of 
Europe's  monarchs,  sent  a  congratulatory  despatch  to 
this  country  on  the  occasion  of  the  Columbus  celebra- 
tion, in  October  of  that  year,  in  Chicago.  The  message 
to  President  Cleveland  ran  as  follows: 

"The  German  Emperor  sends  you,  through  the  Ger- 
man charge  d'affaires,  his  sincere  congratulations  on 
the  quadri-centenary  of  the  discovery  of  America,  and 
unites  with  this  expression  his  most  cordial  wishes  for 
the  continued  development  of  the  great  country  whose 
chief  you  are." 

When  the  Maine  exploded  in  the  harbor  of  Havana, 
on  February  17,  1898,  the  Kaiser  sent  President  McKin- 
ley  the  following  cablegram : 

"  Permit  me  to  express  to  you  and  your  country  my 
sincere  condolence  on  the  terrible  loss  of  the  Maine, 

114 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 

and  on  the  death  of  so  many  valorous  officers  and  men 
of  your  navy." 

The  Maine  disaster,  as  everybody  remembers,  was 
the  direct  cause  of  the  war  with  Spain,  and  in  its  course 
several  incidents  happened,  more  particularly  those 
in  Manila  Bay,  in  which  the  German  admiral,  Von 
Diederichs,  played  a  conspicuous  and  unfortunate  part, 
and  the  persistently  unfriendly  attitude  of  the  German 
press,  which  were  calculated  to  inflame  American 
public  opinion  against  Germany  and  her  Kaiser.  In 
fact,  there  was  something  like  temporary  estrange- 
ment noticeable  between  the  two  countries,  so  far,  at 
least,  as  popular  sentiment  goes,  although  the  official 
relations  between  Washington  and  Berlin  remained 
throughout  consistently  friendly.  It  was  in  1899 
when  this  somewhat  hostile  feeling  led  to  the  Coghlan 
incident.  Captain  Coghlan,  U.S.N. ,  returning  with 
several  other  officers  from  the  Philippines,  was  given 
a  banquet  in  New  York,  and  towards  its  close  related 
to  his  hosts  his  version  of  the  transactions  between 
Diederichs  and  Admiral  Dewey,  not  forgetting  the 
latter's  reply  to  some  piece  of  impertinence,  that, 
"as  for  the  German  ships  and  their  flag,  of  which 
he  could  buy  at  any  store  any  amount  at  half  a  dollar 
a  yard,  they  should  not  hinder  him  in  blockading  the 
harbor.  At  all  events,  if  Germany  wanted  war  with 
America,  they  could  have  it  any  moment."  And 
this  Coghlan  followed  up  by  singing,  at  the  Kaiser's 
expense,  the  well-known  burlesque  song,  "Me  and 
God." 

Great  indignation  was  felt  at  this  in  Germany  when 
it  became  known  there.  On  April  24th,  Secretary  of 
State  Hay  expressed  to  the  German  ambassador,  Von 
Holleben,  his  regret  and  disapprobation  at  Captain 
Coghlan's   conduct.      And    on   April    26th,   President 

ii5- 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

McKinley  received  the  ambassador  to  add  his  own 
expression  of  censure  of  Coghlan's  escapade  to  that 
previously  given  by  Mr.  Hay,  asking  the  German 
diplomat  at  the  same  time  to  communicate  to  his 
imperial  master  and  the  imperial  family  assurances 
of  his  friendly  regard. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  Kaiser  looked  upon  this  in- 
sult offered  him  by  an  officer  of  a  friendly  power  in  a 
much  more  serious  light  than  the  matter  was  viewed 
here,  and  that  it  made  him  for  the  first  time  aware  of 
the  change  which  public  sentiment  in  America  had  un- 
dergone as  to  his  person.  The  incident  led,  at  least  in- 
directly, to  the  recall  of  Admiral  von  Diederichs,  and, 
later  on,  to  the  resolve  to  send  the  Kaiser's  brother, 
Prince  Henry,  here  on  a  mission  of  friendship  and 
good-will,  a  resolve  carried  out  in  1902,  with  the  best 
results. 

Before  that,  however,  other  evidences  of  the  Kaiser's 
continued  friendliness  came  to  light.  When  President 
McKinley  cabled  the  German  Emperor,  on  July  5,  1900, 
his  own  and  the  American  people's  condolence  on  the 
assassination  of  Baron  von  Ketteler,  the  German 
minister  in  China,  the  Kaiser  replied : 

"For  the  warm  words  of  sympathy  which  your 
Excellency  has  been  good  enough  to  express  relative 
to  the  murder  of  my  representative  in  Peking,  I  render 
my  most  sincere  thanks.  I  recognize  in  it  the  common 
pulse-beat  of  those  interests  which  unite  all  civilized 
nations." 

In  the  same  year,  on  September  1st,  the  Kaiser 
telegraphed  to  President  McKinley,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  completed  laying  of  the  first  cable  establishing 
direct  cable  connection  between  the  two  countries  and 
built  entirely  with  German  capital: 

116 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 

"At  the  initiation  to-day  of  the  new  cable  bringing 
Germany  and  the  United  States  in  closest  telegraphic 
connection,  I  gladly  seize  the  opportunity  afforded  to 
express  to  your  Excellency  my  joy  at  the  completion 
of  this  significant  work  of  peace.  I  know  I  am  of  one 
mind  with  your  Excellency  in  wishing  and  hoping  that 
direct  cable  communication  will  contribute  to  the  gen- 
eral welfare  and  to  the  maintenance  and  consolidation 
of  friendly  relations  between  the  two  countries." 

Only  a  few  weeks  later  the  Kaiser  sent  another 
cablegram  to  the  President  in  which  he  gave  utterance 
to  his  sympathy  on  the  severe  loss  of  life  and  property 
caused  by  the  great  cyclone  in  Texas.  The  message 
read: 

"I  must  communicate  to  your  Excellency  the  ex- 
pression of  my  deep  fellow-feeling  on  the  occasion  of 
the  disaster  which  has  overtaken  the  flourishing  city 
and  harbor  of  Galveston  and  other  parts  of  Texas. 
I  mourn  with  you  and  the  people  of  the  United  States 
the  great  loss  of  life  and  property  which  this  hurri- 
cane was  responsible  for.  On  a  par,  however,  with  the 
immensity  of  the  injury  wrought  is  the  indomitable 
spirit  of  the  citizens  of  the  New  World,  which  they 
have  won  and  preserved  in  the  long  struggle  against 
the  hostile  forces  of  nature.  I  indulge  the  earnest 
hope  that  Galveston  will  rise  to  renewed  prosperity." 

When  on  September  10,  1901,  President  McKinley 
was  shot  by  an  anarchist  assassin,  during  a  visit  to  the 
Buffalo  Exposition,  the  Kaiser  immediately  telegraphed 
as  follows: 

"The  news  of  the  execrable  attempt  upon  your  life 
has  plunged  me  in  grief,  and  I  wish  to  express  my  own 

117 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

and  the  entire  German  people's  sympathy  with  you 
and  with  the  sorrow  that  has  overwhelmed  your 
country.  May  it  please  God  to  vouchsafe  to  you  safe 
and  rapid  recovery." 

To  Mrs.  McKinley,  too,  the  imperial  couple  jointly 
sent  the  following  cablegram: 

"Terror-struck  by  the  attempt  upon  your  husband, 
both  the  Empress  and  I  express  to  you  our  profound 
sympathy  and  the  hope  that  God  may  restore  health 
to  President  McKinley." 

Through  our  embassy  in  Berlin  these  messages  were 
answered  as  follows : 

"The  touching  evidence  of  sympathy  by  their  Majesties 
the  German  Emperor  and  Empress  has  been  communicated  to 
Mrs.  McKinley.  The  embassy  is  instructed  to  express  in  her 
behalf  deep-felt  appreciation." 

In  1902,  on  the  occasion  of  the  launching  of  a  yacht, 
the  Meteor,  which  the  Kaiser  had  ordered  built  here, 
and  which  ceremony  took  place  on  Shooter's  Island, 
Prince  Henry,  the  Kaiser's  brother,  visited  this  country. 
He  was  everywhere  received  with  hospitality  and  cord- 
ial good-will,  and  his  winning  ways,  his  frank  and  un- 
affected manliness  and  unassuming  character  doubt- 
less produced  a  pleasant  and  lasting  impression  on  the 
people  and  government  of  this  country.  The  visit,  too, 
probably  aided  in  healing  some  old  sores  dating  from 
1898,  and  was  thus  in  a  sense  a  political  event.  In 
Germany,  however,  where  royalty  stands  under  all  cir- 
cumstances on  an  exceptional  and  exalted  footing,  and 
where  such  condescending  demeanor  as  Prince  Henry 
exhibited  during  his  entire  visit  here  is  unheard  of,  they 
have,  nevertheless,  been  somewhat  disappointed  with 

118 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 

the  palpable  results.  In  this  country  and  in  England, 
the  question  with  many  was,  What  was  the  real  object 
of  Prince  Henry's  visit? 

To  this  question  a  distinguished  American  naval 
officer,  Rear- Admiral  Evans,  gives  a  quite  explicit  and 
more  or  less  satisfying  answer  in  an  article  which  ap- 
peared, in  June  last,  in  a  London  magazine.  Admiral 
Evans,  intimately  and  for  many  years  acquainted  with 
Prince  Henry,  and  who  was  the  guest's  constant  com- 
panion throughout  his  stay  in  the  United  States,  says, 
in  substance,  that  from  his  personal  knowledge  and 
from  many  conversations  had  with  the  Prince,  he  could 
say  that  the  only  purpose  aimed  at  or  subserved  by  the 
visit  was  to  show  the  friendship  of  the  German  Kaiser 
and  his  people,  and,  incidentally,  to  have  him  acquire, 
vicariously  for  the  Kaiser,  as  it  were,  as  comprehensive 
a  knowledge  of  this  country,  its  people,  institutions, 
purposes,  and  methods,  as  the  brief  duration  of  his  stay 
here  would  permit. 

To  show  his  gratitude  to  the  American  people  for  the 
hearty  and  kindly  hospitality  shown  his  brother,  and  to 
give  them  at  the  same  time  a  new  proof  of  his  friend- 
ship, the  Kaiser,  soon  after  Prince  Henry's  return,  gave 
notice  of  his  intention  to  present  as  a  gift  a  statue  of  his 
sire,  Frederick  the  Great.  On  May  14,  1902,  he  tele- 
graphed to  President  Roosevelt: 

"  I  am  still  under  the  strong  impression  which  the 
brilliant  and  cordial  reception  of  my  brother,  Prince 
Henry,  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America 
has  made  on  me.  In  the  speeches  in  which  he  was  wel- 
comed, mention  was  made  repeatedly  of  the  fact  that 
my  ancestor,  Frederick  the  Great,  consistently  assumed 
a  friendly  attitude  towards  the  young  American  Repub- 
lic at  the  time  of  its  formation,  laying  thereby  the  foun- 
dation for  those  amicable  relations  which  have  ever 

119 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

since  existed  between  the  two  countries.  The  ex- 
ample thus  furnished  me  by  the  great  king  I  will  fol- 
low. I  should  like  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the 
visit  of  Prince  Henry  by  a  gift  to  the  American  people, 
which  I  beg  you  will  accept  in  their  name.  I  intend  to 
present  the  United  States  with  a  bronze  statue  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  which  might  be  erected  in  Wash- 
ington in  a  spot  which  I  leave  it  to  you  to  select.  May 
this  gift  be  looked  upon  as  a  permanent  token  of  the 
intimate  relations  which  our  two  great  nations  have  so 
successfully  nursed  and  developed." 

To  this  telegram  President  Roosevelt  replied,  in  Ger- 
man, in  the  following  message,  which  the  Kaiser  re- 
ceived in  Wiesbaden,  where  he  then  happened  to  be : 

"I  am  deeply  touched  by  your  friendly  and  magnificent 
offer.  I  thank  you  cordially  for  it  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States,  and  shall  submit  it  at  once  to  Congress.  It  will  cer- 
tainly give  our  people  the  greatest  pleasure  to  receive  from  your 
hands  a  statue  of  the  famous  ruler  and  soldier,  one  of  the  great- 
est men  of  all  times,  Frederick  the  Great,  and  it  is  specially 
appropriate  that  his  statue  is  to  be  erected  here  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  the  capital  of  the  republic  whose  birth  he  con- 
templated with  such  amicable  interest.  For  this  new  proof  of 
your  friendly  sentiment  towards  this  country  I  thank  you  in  its 
name.  The  gift  will  surely  be  viewed  here  as  a  renewed  token 
of  friendship  between  the  two  nations.  We  hope  and  trust 
that  this  friendship  will  become  still  stronger  and  more  durable 
in  the  years  to  come.  It  is  a  harbinger  of  the  welfare  of  all 
humanity,  that  at  the  threshold  of  this  century  the  American 
and  the  German  peoples  work  together  in  a  spirit  of  cordial 
friendship.  Roosevelt." 

Another  proof  of  the  Kaiser's  friendly  regard  for  us 
was  his  inviting,  as  his  personal  guests,  our  Generals 
Corbin,  Young,  and  Wood,  to  participate  in  the  great 
army  manoeuvres  last  fall.  They  returned  full  of  praise 
and  appreciation  of  the  manifold  kindnesses  shown  and 

120 


THE    KAISER  AND  THE   UNITED   STATES 

the  facilities  afforded  them  to  view  advantageously 
the  great  military  spectacle. 

Again,  in  the  Venezuela  imbroglio,  long  before  decid- 
ing on  compulsory  measures  towards  that  recalcitrant 
South  American  debtor,  the  Kaiser  took  explicit  pains 
to  ascertain  the  opinions,  predilections,  and  conven- 
ience of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  steps  which  he 
contemplated  were  concerned,  and  the  policy  finally 
outlined  and  adopted  by  him  in  trying  to  effect  a  set- 
tlement with  Venezuela  was  substantially  based  on  a 
previous  friendly  understanding  had  with  Washington. 
He  also  made  a  point,  last  year,  of  giving,  through  the 
mouth  of  his  then  ambassador  in  Washington,  Von 
Holleben,  formal  assurances  of  his  and  his  government's 
unqualified  adherence  to  the  Monroe  doctrine,  as  that 
article  of  American  faith  had  last  been  officially  inter- 
preted by  President  Roosevelt  himself. 

Again,  the  recall  of  Ambassador  von  Holleben,  who 
had  not  shown  a  lucky  hand  in  dealing  with  the  ad- 
justment of  important  points  at  issue  between  the 
two  countries,  and  the  sending  in  his  place  of  Baron 
Speck  von  Sternburg,  must  be  taken  as  an  earnest 
of  his  desire  to  avoid  all  friction  with  this  country. 
For  he  knew  that  Baron  Sternburg  was,  in  a  pe- 
culiarly strong  sense,  persona  gratissima  with  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  and  with  our  entire  official  world  in 
Washington. 

In  the  foregoing  it  was  distinctly  stated  that  the 
Kaiser's  views  as  to  this  country  underwent  a  great 
modification  since  the  events  of  the  year  1898.  In 
proof  of  this,  some  of  his  authentic  utterances  about 
America,  made  for  the  most  part  anterior  to  the  war 
with  Spain,  must  be  given  a  place  here. 

To  the  late  General  Runyon,  American  ambassador 
in  Berlin  during  the  last  Cleveland  administration,  he 
said; 

121 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

"  Such  a  pushing  people  as  the  Americans  will,  sooner 
or  later,  clash  with  others,  but  let  us  hope  never  with 
Germany." 

To  Ambassador  White,  recently  retired,  he  re- 
marked : 

"America  is  a  country  of  contrasts — piercing  lights 
and  deep  shadows." 

On  another  occasion : 

"  I  know  there  are  many  things  my  Germans  might 
learn  from  the  American  people;  above  all,  their  op- 
timism, their  almost  naive  enthusiasm  and  unquench- 
able energy." 

To  the  late  ex-President  Harrison  he  said,  in  the 
course  of  an  hour's  conversation: 

"  Your  whole  country  is  an  experiment — an  intense- 
ly interesting  one,  I  admit,  but  still  an  experiment. 
Whether  it  will  stand  the  storms  of  time  as  the  older 
monarchies  of  Europe  have  done  remains  still  to  be 
seen." 

To  the  same: 

"  One  of  the  doubtful  features  of  American  life  is  its 
lack  of  national  cohesion  and  homogeneity.  You're  a 
conglomerate,  a  bubbling  caldron." 

To  the  same : 

"  Such  seething  party  politics  as  yours  are  not  con- 
ducive to  a  calm,  well-balanced  public  opinion." 

122 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES 

There  is,  however,  nothing  reported  of  him  during 
the  last  couple  of  years  which  mirrors  the  like  views. 
On  the  contrary,  since  Prince  Henry,  after  the  latter' s 
return  from  his  visit  here,  had  given  his  imperial  broth- 
er a  full,  vivid,  and  truthful  account  of  all  the  novel 
things  seen  and  heard  here,  the  Kaiser  is  said  to  have 
given  expression  in  private  conversation  to  his  great 
admiration  of  the  pluck,  the  national  cohesion,  and  the 
fervid  patriotism  of  the  American  people. 


PROMOTING    THE    WELFARE 
OF    THE    EMPIRE 


VIII 

THE  KAISER  AND  THE  UNITY  IDEA 

He  is  the  chief  instrument  of  imperial  consolidation — Con- 
stant iteration  of  the  necessity  of  national  unanimity — The 
empire's  jubilee  in  1896 — The  Kaiser's  speeches  and  decrees 
on  that  occasion — His  commemoration  of  the  centenary  of 
William  I.'s  birth — His  oration  at  the  dedicatory  festivities 
of  the  Marienburg. 

His  very  position  as  head  of  reunited  Germany 
makes  it  the  Kaiser's  duty  and  prerogative  to  advocate 
consistently  the  idea  of  national  consolidation.  He 
personates  and  typifies  the  empire's  unity  and  har- 
mony. Far  more  than  his  grandfather  did,  William  II. 
stands  for  imperial  power  and  influence,  and  so  far  as 
his  internal  policy  is  concerned,  preponderance  of  im- 
perial power  may  be  taken  as  the  first  and  foremost 
item  in  his  programme.  During  his  reign  of  fifteen 
years,  his  speeches  and  sayings  on  innumerable  occa- 
sions breathe  this  central  idea.  During  his  constant 
travels  within  the  empire,  when  receiving  delegations, 
at  the  openings  of  Reichstag  sessions,  when  assisting  at 
the  celebration  of  national  memorial  days,  the  Kaiser 
always  stands  for  an  ideal  conception  of  the  nation's 
consolidation. 

When  the  war  with  France  broke  out,  in  1870, 
Prince  William  was  but  eleven  years  old,  but  with  en- 
thusiasm he  followed  every  phase  of  the  memorable 
struggle,  and  waxed  eloquent,  in  his  boyish  way,  at  the 
heroic  deeds  of  his  father  and  grandfather.     He  prized 

127 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

— and  still  prizes — the  acquisitions  made  by  that  war, 
especially  the  achievement  of  national  unity  and  the 
reconquest  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  as  a  sacred  inheritance 
whose  conservation  and  full  fruition  is  left  to  himself 
above  all. 

Eight  years  after  the  accession  of  William  II.,  the 
nation  celebrated  the  quarter-century  jubilee  of  the 
conclusion  of  the  peace  of  Frankfort  -  on  -  Main,  from 
which  dates  the  internationally  admitted  sanction  of 
the  young  empire's  existence,  and  Kaiser  William  II. 
at  that  time  repeatedly  gave  voice  to  the  national  joy 
at  the  accomplished  unity. 

On  January  1.7,  1896,  the  Prince-Regent  Luitpold 
of  Bavaria l  sent  the  Kaiser  the  following  telegram : 

"On  the  eve  of  the  German  Empire's  jubilee,  I  must  ex- 
press to  your  Imperial  Majesty  my  most  sincere  congratula- 
tions. Twenty-five  years  ago  the  new  German  Empire  was 
founded.  To-day  it  stands,  internally  consolidated,  firm  and 
respected  by  the  other  nations.  May  Providence  continue  to 
bless  and  protect  it." 

To  which  the  Kaiser  responded: 

"  With  all  my  heart  I  thank  your  Royal  Highness  for 
the  congratulations  sent  me  on  the  occasion  of  the  Ger- 
man Empire's  jubilee.  The  bond  which  has  united  the 
German  tribes  and  their  rulers  during  the  past  twenty- 
five  years  will -prove,  I  trust  to  God,  likewise  solid  and 
unbreakable  in  the  future." 

On  the  succeeding  day,  the  anniversary  of  the  mem- 
orable proclamation  of  a  reunited  Germany  which  had 
taken  place  in  the  Salle  des  Glaces,  in  Louis  XIV. 's 
grand  palace  in  Versailles,  on  January  18,  1871,  while 


1  King  Otto  of  Bavaria  being 
hopelessly  insane,  his  uncle,  Lu- 
itpold, has  been  reigning  in  his 


stead  ever  since,  his  official  title 
being  "Prince -Regent."  He  is 
an  octogenarian. — Ed. 


128 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   UNITY   IDEA 

the  guns  flashed  and  boomed  the  besiegers'  greetings 
into  the  brilliant  capital  of  the  foe,  there  was  a  special 
divine  service  in  the  old  royal  castle  in  Berlin,  followed 
by  a  splendid  function  in  the  White  Hall.  Among  the 
invited  guests  on  that  occasion  were  the  members  of 
the  present  Reichstag,  and  of  the  very  first  one,  that  of 
187 1.  The  Kaiser  then  appeared,  surrounded  by  a 
number  of  German  sovereigns,  by  his  court  in  gala  at- 
tire, and  by  a  brilliant  suite  of  distinguished  generals 
and  high  dignitaries.  He  read  from  the  steps  of  the 
throne  a  document  whose  striking  passages  were  the 
following : 

"...  Twenty-five  years  ago  my  grandfather,  now 
resting  in  God,  obeying  the  unanimous  desire  of  the 
German  sovereigns,  the  rulers  of  the  free  cities,  and 
of  the  nation  at  large,  accepted  the  dignity  of  the 
German  Emperor.  Therefore  we  have  resolved  to 
commemorate  this  important  event.  By  it  the  old- 
time  longing  of  the  German  people  has  at  last  been 
definitely  and  brilliantly  realized,  and  Germany  has 
once  more  assumed  that  position  to  which  its  history 
and  its  civilizatory  development  entitles  it  among 
the  nations  of  the  globe. 

"We  have  for  the  purpose  bidden  here  the  repre- 
sentatives of  our  august  allies  and  the  delegates  of  the 
nation,  as  well  as  those  who  at  the  great  time  of  our 
unification  aided  prominently  in  accomplishing  this 
task. 

"  Surrounded  by  the  banners  and  standards  of  those 
glorious  regiments  which  were  the  instruments  of  the 
valor  of  our  people,  and  which  on  that  day  saluted  the 
first  German  Kaiser,  we  are  reminded  with  a  deeply 
moved  heart  of  that  inspiriting  picture  which  the 
united  fatherland  offered  to  its  contemporaries  in  its 
princes  and  consolidated  tribes. 
9  129 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

"  Looking  back  upon  the  past  twenty-five  years,  we 
cannot  do  other  than  offer  our  humble  thanks  to 
divine  Providence,  whose  blessing  has  visibly  rested 
upon  the  empire  and  its  members. 

"The  pledge  given  by  our  grandfather  in  accepting 
the  imperial  crown,  and  repeated  by  his  successors,  to 
protect  with  German  steadfastness  and  fidelity  the 
rights  of  the  empire  and  its  members,  to  maintain 
peace,  and  to  promote  the  strength  of  the  nation,  has 
with  God's  help  been  kept  hitherto. 

"  Borne  by  the  conviction  that  its  mission  is  to  lift 
up  its  voice  in  the  council  of  nations  in  favor  of  peace, 
with  malice  towards  none  and  with  favor  towards  none, 
the  young  empire  has  devoted  itself  undisturbedly  to 
the  task  of  consolidating  its  internal  institutions. 

"...  Ready  and  willing  for  any  sacrifice  where 
the  good  of  the  whole  was  at  stake,  the  empire  has 
demonstrated  its  ability  to  retain  what  has  been  ac- 
quired, to  safeguard  it,  to  heal  defects  in  the  social 
organism,  and  to  go  forward  in  furthering  the  satis- 
faction of  the  different  classes  of  the  population. 

"  We  can  rejoice  at  what  has  been  accomplished  in 
this  line. 

"...  A  free  track  for  the  development  and  mani- 
festation of  the  intellectual  and  material  forces  of  the 
nation,  the  promotion  of  the  well-being  thereby  en- 
gendered, the  establishment  of  equal  and  common 
justice,  the  security  of  an  impartial  and  generally 
approved  law,  and  the  education  of  our  youth  to  be- 
come God  -  fearing  and  faithful  to  the  fatherland — 
these  have  been  the  aims  which  the  empire  has  con- 
stantly striven  for. 

" .  .  .  As  we  ourselves  herewith  renew  the  promise 
to  live  after  the  august  example  furnished  us  by  our 
deplored  grandfather,  in  ceaseless  fulfilment  of  duty, 
so  we  demand,  by  right  of  our  imperial  office,  of  all  and 

130 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   UNITY   IDEA 

every  member  of  our  nation,  first  always  to  keep  in 
view  the  welfare  of  the  empire,  regardless  of  party  or 
partisan  interests,  imitating  m  this  our  high  allies,  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  fatherland  with 
all  their  powers  and  with  German  fidelity,  and  thus 
promote  in  joint  effort  the  greatness  and  the  happi- 
ness of  our  beloved  country. 

"  If  this  be  done,  the  blessings  of  Heaven  will,  we 
trust,  continue  to  remain  with  us,  and  we  shall,  as  in 
that  great  time  of  unification,  harmonious  and  proof 
against  every  attack,  go  on  devoting  ourselves  to  the 
fostering  and  preservation  of  our  own  national  in- 
terests. 

"And  the  German  Empire,  instead  of  being  a  danger 
to  other  states  and  countries,  will  remain,  enjoying  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  foreign  nations,  a  strong 
bulwark  of  peace. 

"God  grant  that  this  be  so!" 

Then  the  Kaiser  seized  the  regimental  flag  of  the 
ist  Foot  Guards,  lowered  it,  and,  in  a  strong  voice  and 
with  dramatic  effect,  said : 

"Facing  this  venerable  symbol  of  glory,  typical  of 
two  centuries  of  unexampled  achievements,  I  here- 
with renew  my  vow  always  to  protect  the  honor  of 
nation  and  empire,  both  within  and  without!  One 
country,  one  nation,  one  God!" 

At  the  grand  banquet  in  the  afternoon  the  Kaiser 
delivered  himself  of  the  following  speech : 

"...  What  our  fathers  dreamed,  what  German 
youth  sang  and  desired,  that  was  vouchsafed  to  my 
father  and  grandfather  to  accomplish,  with  the  Ger- 
man  princes   aiding   faithfully,    restoring   the   glories 

131 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

of  old.  We  on  our  part  may  enjoy ;  we  may  feel  glad 
to-day.  But  that  means  that  we,  too,  have  a  duty 
to  perform — namely,  to  preserve  what  they  achieved. 
The  German  Empire  has  become  a  world  power. 
Everywhere,  in  the  farthest  corners  of  the  globe, 
dwell  thousands  of  our  countrymen.  German  wares, 
German  science,  German  diligence  cross  the  oceans. 
In  thousands  of  millions  we  may  reckon  the  values 
which  Germany  has  floating  on  the  seas. 

"It  is  your  part,  gentlemen,  to  help  me  in  the  task 
of  linking  firmly  this  greater  German  Empire  with 
the  smaller  home.  The  vow  I  made  to-day  in  the 
presence  of  you  all  can  only  be  wholly  fulfilled  if  you, 
stirred  by  the  spirit  of  holy,  undivided  patriotism, 
lend  me  your  fullest,  most  untiring  support.  With 
this  wish,  therefore,  that  you  will  help  me  with  all 
your  might  in  doing  my  duty  not  alone  to  my  country- 
men at  home,  but  also  to  those  many  thousands  of  our 
countrymen  living  abroad — that  is,  to  enable  me  to 
protect  them  when  it  is  my  duty  so  to  do — and  with 
the  poet's  warning,  touching  us  all,  '  Was  du  ererbt 
von  deinen  Vatern  hast,  erwerb  es,  um  es  zu  besitzen,' l 
I  raise  my  glass  and  propose  a  toast  to  the  welfare  of 
our  beloved  German  fatherland:  The  German  Em- 
pire— may  it  prosper  and  live!  Hoch!  Again,  hoch! 
And  a  third  time,  hoch!" 

To  perpetuate  the  memory  of  his  grandfather, 
William  I.,  to  whom  and  his  father  he  in  his  speeches 
and  decrees  on  that  day,  and  on  many  other  occasions, 
exclusively  attributed  the  glory  of  the  great  achieve- 
ments  of   1870-7 1,2  the    Kaiser  founded  a  new  and 


1  A  quotation  from  Goethe, 
meaning,  What  thou  hast  in- 
herited from  thy  fathers  must 
be  earned  by  thyself  in  order  to 
be  fully  thine. — Ed. 


2  The  systematic  omission  of 
the  names  of  Bismarck  and 
Moltke,  and  of  all  others  who  had 
had  a  leading  share  in  bring- 
ing  about    the  re-establishment 


132 


THE   KAISER  AND   THE   UNITY   IDEA 

highly  graded  and  prized  decoration,  the  so-called 
"  Wilhelms-Orden,"  and  issued  a  decree  to  that  effect 
on  the  same  day,  January  18,  1896. 

On  the  2 2d  of  the  same  month  the  Kaiser,  in  a  de- 
cree addressed  to  the  then  imperial  chancellor,  Prince 
Hohenlohe,  expresses  great  satisfaction  at  the  una- 
nimity and  enthusiasm  with  which  the  empire's  jubilee 
had  been  kept,  and  then  says : 

"...  This  has  gladdened  my  heart  and  strength- 
ened my  belief  that  the  German  people  will  never 
permit  that  the  things  won  on  January  18,  1871,  be 
wrested  from  their  grasp,  and  that,  with  the  help  of 
God,  they  will  know  how  to  defend  their  most  prized 
treasures.  To  all  those  who  have  evidenced  their 
love  for  the  fatherland  and  for  me,  and  who  have 
helped  me  by  their  collaboration,  I  render  my  most 
cordial  thanks.  I  request  you  to  publish  this  decree 
immediately." 

Soon  after,  at  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the 
peace  of  Frankfort-on-Main,  the  imperial  couple  hav- 
ing gone  to  that  city  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  the 
day,  a  monument  of  William  I.  was  unveiled  by  the 
Kaiser.  And  in  reply  to  an  address  by  the  chief  bur- 
gomaster of  Frankfort,  Adickes,  the  monarch  delivered 
an  address  of  considerable  length.     In  it  he  said : 


of  the  German  Empire  and  the 
preceding  victories  over  France, 
created  at  the  time  wide-spread 
indignation  in  Germany.  In  some 
previous  speeches  the  Kaiser  had 
even  spoken  of  Bismarck  as  a 
mere  Handlanger  —  i.  e.,  "tool" 
—  of  his  grandfather,  whereas 
that  term  of  contempt  could  be 
more  fittingly  applied,  as  history 


teaches,  to  Bismarck's  nominal 
master.  The  total  estrangement 
that  took  place  between  the  im- 
pulsive Kaiser  and  the  retired  ex- 
chancellor,  and  Bismarck's  fre- 
quent sarcastic  remarks  about 
the  young  monarch,  explain  to  a 
very  great  extent  this  phenome- 
non, but  there  was  also  policy  in 
it.— Ed. 


+  33 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

" .  .  .  It  is  meet  that  on  such  a  day  our  eyes  turn 
towards  the  figure  of  my  grandfather.  We  see  him  at 
a  time  when  he,  at  the  side  of  his  mother  and  of  his 
father,  sojourned  far  in  the  east  of  the  monarchy,1  and 
we  apprehend,  from  the  vicissitudes  through  which  his 
life  had  to  pass,,  how  the  Almighty  leads  ruler  and  na- 
tion, in  order  to  form  gradually  the  tool  wherewith  He 
is  to  give  back  peace  to  the  world.  .  .  .  Our  eyes  dwell 
on  him  at  that  moment  when  he  stood  in  Konigsberg 
emphatically  demonstrating  the  divine  right  of  royalty, 
the  sceptre  in  one  hand  and  the  imperial  sword  in  the 
other,  giving  God  alone  the  honor,  and  taking  over  the 
heavy  burden  of  his  office  from  Him  alone.  Thus  he 
became  the  selected,  the  chosen  instrument  of  the  Most 
High.  But  not  alone  that.  He  became  also  for  us  the 
model,  the  model  for  all  monarchs,  who  can  achieve 
only  in  that  case  something  for  their  peoples  and 
through  their  peoples  if  they  remain  firm  in  the  faith 
that  their  office,  [given  them  by  Heaven,  also  com- 
pels them  to  render  one  day  an  account  of  it  to 
Heaven." 

In  the  further  course  of  his  oration  the  Kaiser  spoke 
enthusiastically  of  the  army,  which  he  called  "the 
creation  of  my  grandfather,"  and  with  which  "the  old 
master"  had  restored  a  period  of  long,  unbroken  peace 
to  the  world.  He  condemned  political  party  spirit,  and 
said: 

"  The  army  and  tne  commander-in-chief  alone  guar- 
antee the  security  of  the  empire  and  the  peace  of  the 
world." 


1  The  Kaiser  here  refers,  of 
course,  to  the  flight  of  his  grand- 
father, then  a  boy  of  ten,  with 
his  mother,  Queen  Louise,  to  the 


remotest  and  poorest  province 
of  Prussia,  after  the  reverses, 
in  1806,  at  Jena  and  Auerstadt. 
—Ed. 


T34 


THE   KAISER   AND   THE   UNITY   IDEA 

On  that  day  he  sent  also  a  telegram  to  Prince  Bis- 
marck at  Friedrichsruh,  saying: 

"The  peace  of  Frankfort,  concluded  twenty-five 
years  ago,  and  in  memory  of  which  this  moment  an 
equestrian  statue  of  Kaiser  William  the  Great,  now 
resting  in  God,  has  been  unveiled,  formed  the  last  link 
in  a  chain  of  great  events  by  which  Germany  recovered 
once  more  her  unity  and  greatness,  as  also  the  position 
to  which  she  is  entitled  in  the  council  of  nations.  It  is 
my  desire  and  my  duty  to  acknowledge  on  this  occa- 
sion, my  dear  Prince,  in  gratitude  and  respect,  the 
great  services  rendered  by  you.  ..." 

On  May  17,  1896,  the  Kaiser,  in  a  decree  to  the  chan- 
cellor, Prince  Hohenlohe,  thanked  the  whole  nation  for 
the  many  signs  of  patriotism  evinced  of  late,  especially 
for  the  dedication  of  so  many  monuments  erected  by  a 
grateful  posterity  to  the  "  Hero  Emperor,  William  the 
Great." 

On  July  3,  1896,  the  Kaiser  sent  a  telegram  to  Hoh- 
enlohe from  on  board  his  yacht  in  Scandinavian  waters, 
expressing  joy  at  the  adoption  by  the  Reichstag  of  a 
uniform  civil  code  for  the  whole  of  the  empire,  saying 
he  saw  in  it  "  a  new  cementing  for  the  fatherland,  now 
united  in  one  empire." 

The  centenary  of  the  birth  of  William  I.,  March  22, 
1897,  was  also  made  a  great  day  by  the  Kaiser,  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  feelings  of  patriotism  and  com- 
mon love  and  interest  in  the  empire.  On  that  day  he 
published  a  decree  to  the  army,  saying: 

"The  country  to-day  commemorates  the  date  on 
which,  a  century  ago,  William  the  Great  was  born,  that 
grand  ruler  who,  according  to  the  will  of  Providence, 
was  to  lead  the  German  people  once  more  into  longed- 

135 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

for  unity,  and  afterwards  to  give  himself  to  it  as  its 
emperor. 

"  When  Germany's  frontiers  were  threatened  by  hos- 
tile attack,  her  honor  and  independence  in  question, 
the  long-divided  tribes  north  and  south  met  once  more 
on  common  ground.  The  companionship-in-arms  seal- 
ed in  oceans  of  heroic  blood  on  France's  battle-fields 
by  German  hosts  became  the  corner-stone  of  the  new 
empire  and  of  the  new  federation  comprising  forever 
the  princes  and  tribes  of  Germany.  Of  this  unifica- 
tion, the  grand  monument  erected  to  its  great  Kaiser 
by  the  love  and  veneration  of  the  German  nation,  and 
dedicated  to-day,1  honoring  the  father  of  the  father- 
land, is  an  inspiring  witness.  To-day's  celebration  will 
remain  engraved  in  all  hearts  which  beat  for  Germany's 
honor  and  welfare,  not  to  be  forgotten  by  all  those  who 
followed  the  victorious  banners  of  William  the  Great, 
and  who  were  enabled  to  aid  him  in  accomplishing  the 
task  of  his  life. 

"Specially  to  mark  this  festive  day,  I  herewith  order 
that  henceforth  my  army  will  wear  the  colors  of  the 
common  fatherland.2  This  token  of  unity  achieved, 
the  German  colors  will  be  given  to-day  and  at  this  same 
hour,  in  accordance  with  the  unanimous  resolve  of  my 
august  allies,  to  their  troops.  This  token  is  to  be  a  vis- 
ible warning  at  all  times  to  stand  up  for  Germany's  glory 
and  greatness,  to  protect  it  with  their  life's  blood.  ..." 

To  commemorate  still  further  the  achievements  of  his 
grandfather,  the  Kaiser  also  caused  the  distribution  of 


1  The  Kaiser  speaks  here  of  the 
national  monument  to  William  I. 
at  Berlin,  erected  by  popular  sub- 
scription and  unveiled  on  that 
day.  It  faces  the  royal  castle. 
—Ed. 

8  So   far  the   different  contin- 


gents of  the  German  army  had 
only  worn  the  respective  colors 
of  their  sovereign  state,  the  Prus- 
sian the  black-and-white,  the 
Saxon  the  green-and-white,  the 
Bavarian  the  blue  -  and  -  white, 
and  so  forth. — Ed 


136 


THE   KAISER  AND   THE   UNITY   IDEA 

memorial  medals,  bearing  the  image  of  William  I.,  in 
the  army  and  among  the  remainder  of  the  population, 
to  all  reputable  veterans  of  the  war  of  1870-71. 

At  the  dedication  of  the  splendidly  restored  Marien- 
burg,  the  ancient  stronghold  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John, 
in  the  province  of  West  Prussia,  on  June  5,  1902,  the 
Kaiser  delivered  himself  of  another  significant  address, 
in  answer  to  a  toast  proposed  by  Prince  Albrecht  of 
Prussia,  chief  master  of  the  order.  In  it  he  severely 
censured  the  anti-German  machinations  of  the  Polish 
element  in  the  population  of  the  three  eastern  prov- 
inces of  Prussia,  saying: 

"...  Once  before  I  had  occasion,  while  likewise 
speaking  in  this  bulwark,  the  old  Marienburg,  to  em- 
phasize the  fact  that  this  ancient  stronghold  in  the 
East,  the  radiating  point  of  culture  and  civilization  in 
the  lands  east  of  the  Vistula,  is  to  remain  a  symbol  for 
the  tasks  devolving  on  the  German  race.  And  now  we 
see  that  Polish  insolence  dares  to  attack  Germanism, 
and  I  am  compelled  to  call  upon  my  people  to  defend 
their  most  sacred  treasures.  ..." 

Thus  the  Kaiser,  in  his  words  and  in  his  acts,  con- 
stantly and  strenuously  upholds  the  principle  of  Ger- 
man unity,  of  greater  national  consolidation.  In  this, 
it  may  be  said,  he  encounters,  however,  much  dogged 
resistance,  not  so  much  openly  as  contravening  him  in 
secret.  This  resistance  proceeds  not  only  from  a  num- 
ber of  Germany's  smaller  sovereign  rulers,  but  from 
large  strata  of  the  population  itself,  notably  in  Bavaria 
and  other  parts  of  South  Germany.  There  cannot  be 
room  for  doubt  that  his  consistent  attitude,  favoring 
firmer  cohesion  of  the  different  states  making  up  the 
empire,  has  wrought  a  very  perceptible  change  in  this 
respect  during  the  fifteen  years  of  his  reign. 

137 


IX 

THE  KAISER  AND  THE  ALLIED  GERMAN  RULERS 

Peculiar  difficulties  that  stood  in  the  way  of  winning  their 
confidence  —  Relations  with  the  Bavarian  royal  house  — 
Those  with  Saxony,  Wurtemberg,  Baden,  Hesse,  and  minor 
dynasties — The  Kaiser's  skilful  use  of  blood  relationship 
with  a  number  of  his  allied  "colleagues" — Repeated  mis- 
understandings between  him  and  the  Bavarian  house  — 
Panegyric  upon  his  uncle  of  Baden. 

In  one  of  the  earliest  speeches  after  his  accession,  the 
Kaiser,  with  a  perfect  apprehension  of  the  difficulties 
confronting  him  in  his  efforts  to  win  the  confidence 
and  the  respect  of  the  other  sovereign  rulers  of  the 
empire,  spoke  as  follows : 

"It  is  one  thing  when  a  nonagenarian  directs  the 
government,  as  was  the  case  with  my  late  grandfather, 
who  had  an  active  and  successful  life  behind  him.  He 
was  the  eldest  of  his  colleagues.  His  counsel  and  ad- 
vice were  sought,  and  much  was  done  to  please  him, 
out  of  sheer  affection.  Then  along  come  I,  barely  thirty 
years  old,  and  nobody  knows  me.  I  had  first  to  win  the 
confidence  of  my  colleagues." 

That  he  in  the  main  has  been  successful  in  earning 
and  retaining  this  confidence  must  be  admitted.  In 
doing  that  he  accomplished  something  of  the  utmost 
importance  for  the  existence  and  preservation  of  the 
empire,  for  only  continued  perfect  accord  among  the 

138 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN   RULERS 

twenty-five  sovereign  rulers  of  the  empire  can  obviate 
dangerous  differences,  whose  effect  necessarily  must  be 
weakening  to  the  whole  complicated  body  politic. 

It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  empire's  founda- 
tion rests  upon  a  compact,  defensive  and  offensive,  be- 
tween the  Emperor  as  King  of  Prussia  and  the  other 
twenty-four  smaller  sovereigns  of  Germany.  The  con- 
stitutional rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  Emperor  could 
not  alone  suffice  to  make  such  a  compact  effective  in 
directing  the  empire's  fortunes  with  success.  A  great 
deal  depends  on  the  personal  worth  of  the  Emperor,  on 
his  personal  magnetism,  his  gifts  of  suasion,  his  states- 
man-like power  to  sway  the  minds  of  his  "colleagues" 
— in  a  word,  on  his  individual  influence. 

Among  the  German  sovereigns  the  Kaiser  has  a  num- 
ber of  sincere  friends.  Grand-duke  Frederick  of  Baden 
is  his  maternal  uncle.  The  late  King  Albert  of  Saxony 
cherished  a  great  and  unvarying  affection  for  him.  In 
his  turn  the  Kaiser  always  showed  much  deference  for 
this  ablest  and  most  conciliatory  of  the  minor  German 
rulers,  who  was  also  the  last  of  the  great  generals  of  the 
Franco  -  German  War.  King  Albert  seized  every  op- 
portunity to  promote  the  sentiment  of  German  unity, 
and  on  several  conspicuous  occasions  acted  as  the 
national  leader  in  the  service  of  that  idea.  It  was  to 
him  the  Emperor  Frederick,  on  his  death-bed,  warm- 
ly recommended  his  successor,  the  impetuous  young 
Prince  William.  With  a  number  of  other  German 
rulers  and  princes  the  Kaiser  is  allied  by  bonds  of 
blood  relationship,  as,  for  instance,  with  the  Grand- 
duke  Ernst  Louis  of  Hesse,  with  the  reigning  Grand- 
duke  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  with  the  young  ruler 
of  Saxe- Weimar,  with  the  Regent  of  Brunswick  (who 
is  his  uncle) ,  with  the  reigning  Prince  of  Schaumburg- 
Lippe,  and  others.  These  ties  he  has  used  most  skil- 
fully throughout,  often  dwelling  on  them  in  his  toasts 

139 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

and  speeches,  and  thereby  fostering  political  accord 
as  well. 

It  was  a  few  months  after  his  accession,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1888,  the  Kaiser  began  his  round  of  visits  at  the 
courts  of  his  "  colleagues."  On  the  28th  of  that  month, 
at  the  gala  dinner  given  him  at  the  royal  castle  in 
Stuttgart,  he  proposed  a  toast  to  King  Carl  of  Wur- 
temberg,  saying: 

"...  I  beg  your  Majesty  to  believe  me  when  I  say 
that  it  was  with  specially  cordial  sentiments  I  came 
here.  For  this  beautiful  land,  and  the  fine  race  in- 
habiting it  over  which  your  Majesty  rules,  have  pro- 
duced during  the  Middle  Ages  many  of  the  most  glori- 
ous emperors  who  guided  the  destinies  of  Germany. 
And  it  draws  me  hither  more  particularly  because  the 
Suabian  land  was  also  the  cradle  of  my  house,  and  in 
my  veins  flows  the  same  Suabian  blood  which  the  gen- 
tlemen here  present  are  proud  of.  .  .  ." 

A  few  days  later  he  was  in  Munich,  replying  to  Burgo- 
master Widenmayer's  address  of  welcome  with  flatter- 
ing references  to  Bavaria's  important  role  in  German 
history,  and  speaking  of  the  reigning  Bavarian  dynasty 
as  "intimately  allied  in  its  interests  with  the  House  of 
Hohenzollern." 

At  the  royal  castle  in  Munich,  replying  to  Prince- 
Regent  Luitpold,  the  Kaiser  said: 

"...  Your  Royal  Highness  has  transferred  to  me, 
in  the  most  magnanimous  way,  the  tried  and  unbroken 
friendship  which  united  you  with  my  late  grand- 
father. And  as  it  was  the  Bavarian  royal  house  in 
1870  which  took  the  first  steps  towards  the  regener- 
ation of  the  united  fatherland,  so  now  your  Royal 
Highness  has  been  the  first  among  Germany's  princes 

140 


THE   KAI&ER  AND  THE   GERMAN    RULERS 

to  stretch  out  a  hand  in  friendship  and  to  offer  me 
advice. 

"...  Let  me  assure  your  Royal  Highness  that  the 
sentiment  is  most  sincere  which  impels  me  to  pledge 
you  my  most  cordial  friendship,  and  to  take  the  solemn 
vow  that  I  shall  co-operate  in  Hohenzollern  faithfulness 
with  the  House  of  Wittelsbach  and,  with  the  valorous 
Bavarian  people,  cling  steadfastly  to  them  in  good 
and  evil  days.  ..." 

On  subsequent  occasions,  too,  the  Kaiser  spoke  in  a 
similar  strain,  and  from  time  to  time  telegrams  and 
letters  attesting  mutual  good-will  were  exchanged  be- 
tween Berlin  and  Munich.  But,  nevertheless,  a  really 
cordial  understanding  between  Bavaria  and  Prussia 
and  between  the  two  respective  dynasties  has  never 
been  established,  and  evidences  of  that  are  cropping 
out  every  little  while.  Two  such  conspicuous  occa- 
sions were  the  following :  During  the  coronation  cere- 
monies in  Moscow,  in  1895,  when  the  present  Czar, 
Nicholas  II.,  was  crowned,  the  Kaiser  and  a  number 
of  smaller  German  princes  attended.  It  was  at  a 
banquet  that  a  Prussian  prince  inadvertently  made 
use  of  the  term  "suite,"  including  in  it  by  implica- 
tion the  representative  of  Bavaria,  Prince  Louis,  the 
heir-apparent,  who  at  once  indignantly  spoke  up,  stig- 
matizing the  word  as  highly  improper  and  insulting  to 
the  sovereign  allies  of  the  Kaiser.  The  affair  made 
much  unpleasant  stir  throughout  Germany,  more  par- 
ticularly in  Bavaria,  where  it  was  bitterly  resented  as 
a  striking  illustration  of  "  Prussian  arrogance."  Again, 
when  the  Kaiser,  without  awaiting  a  formal  invitation 
to  the  Bavarian  army  manoeuvres,  attended  them,  a 
few  years  ago,  a  similar  outbreak  of  hostile  feeling  was 
aroused  in  Bavaria. 

The  Kaiser's  bitter  and  rancorous  quarrel  with  the 

141 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

present  Prince-Regent  of  Lippe-Detmold,  an  insignif- 
icant domain  in  western  Germany,  likewise  stirred  up 
much  feeling  and  led  to  adverse  criticism.  The  Kaiser, 
it  is  interesting  to  note,  was  worsted  in  that  quarrel,  no 
less  a  personage  than  his  friend,  King  Albert  of  Saxony, 
deciding  against  him  on  every  point  in  the  court  of  ar- 
bitration summoned  for  the  purpose,  and  Prince-Re- 
gent Ernst  was  confirmed  in  all  his  rights. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  Kaiser,  during  the  earlier 
part  of  his  reign,  was  continuing  his  visits  of  ceremony 
at  the  different  minor  courts  of  Germany.  His  recep- 
tion was  especially  cordial  in  Dresden,  Oldenburg, 
Weimar,  Brunswick,  Darmstadt,  and  Carlsruhe.  In 
Schaumburg,  the  heir-apparent  of  which  is  married  to 
one  of  the  Kaiser's  sisters,  he  spoke  of  the  reigning 
prince  as  "  the  oldest  and  most  faithful  ally  of  my 
grandfather."  The  Grand-duke  Peter  of  Oldenburg  he 
called  "  a  faithful  friend  and  valued  confederate  of  my 
dear  grandfather."  In  Weimar,  the  birthplace  of  his 
grandmother,  he  dwelt  on  "this  home  of  the  great 
poets  of  the  nation,"  and  toasted  his  great -Uncle, 
Grand-duke  Carl  Alexander  of  Saxe- Weimar,  in  flat- 
tering phrase. 

In  Brunswick  he  answered  a  toast  proposed  by  his 
uncle,  the  Prince-Regent  Albrecht,  by  saying: 

"The  historical  relations  between  our  two  houses 
have  been  most  intimate  and  cordial  for  centuries,  and 
our  house  remembers  with  gratitude  that  Brunswick's 
rulers,  mindful  of  their  duty  as  German  princes  and 
always  striving  to  promote  the  greatness  of  our  Ger- 
man fatherland,  have  risked  and  lost  their  blood  and 
life  for  our  house." 

On  June  18,  1889,  Saxony  celebrated  the  unbroken 
reign  of  its  dynasty,  the  Wettins,  for  eight  centuries, 

142 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN    RULERS 

and  the  Kaiser  attended  the  principal  ceremony  in 
Dresden,  where  he  was  heartily  welcomed  by  King  Al- 
bert.    He  toasted  his  host  as  follows: 

"...  I  know  that  I  am  one  with  everybody  present 
when  I  say:  God  protect,  God  bless  your  Majesty  and 
your  entire  house.  ..." 

He  participated  in  the  joyous  celebration  of  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  reign  of  King  Carl  of 
Wurtemberg,  and  said  that  he,  "like  hosts  of  other 
princes  and  friends  of  the  royal  house,"  had  come  to 
"  help  celebrate  so  auspicious  an  occasion." 

On  August  19,  1889,  the  imperial  couple  visited  the 
grand-ducal  family  of  Baden,  and  toasted  Grand-duke 
Frederick  as  "  a  prince  to  whom  it  had  been  vouch- 
safed to  see  and  take  his  share  in  the  unanimous  rising 
and  reunification  of  the  great  German  fatherland." 

At  the  great  army  manoeuvres  of  the  Saxon  contin- 
gent, in  September,  1889,  the  Kaiser,  being  then  a 
guest  in  the  royal  castle  in  Dresden,  paid  the  following 
touching  tribute  to  King  Albert : 

"  It  is  a  heavy  debt  I  have  to  discharge.  For  many 
years  your  Majesty  has  cared  for  and  advised  me,  with 
unwavering  constancy  and  fidelity.  And  it  was,  as 
your  Majesty  knows,  my  late  father  who  recommend- 
ed me  with  particular  anxiety  to  you,  praying  that 
you  would  have  an  eye  on  me  in  case  death  should 
claim  him  before  his  time. 

"Your  Majesty  has  heeded  this  prayer  in  the  most 
magnanimous  manner,  and  for  many  years  past  I  have 
found  a  true  friend  and  fatherly  adviser  in  your  Maj- 
esty. ..." 

To  the  Grand-duke  Frederick  Francis  of  Mecklen- 

i43 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

burg-Schwerin  he  said,  on  October  i,  1889,  when  on  a 
visit  there  with  the  Empress : 

"Everywhere  in  these  halls  friendly  and  pleasant 
memories  are  awakened,  memories  of  your  Royal 
Highness' s  father  and  of  my  own  grandfather,  two 
rulers  who  must,  be  reckoned  with  the  best  history 
tells  of.  We  two  younger  ones  will  try  to  emulate 
these  two,  not  alone  in  all  the  virtues  that  grace  the 
ruler,  but  also  in  brotherly  affection  and  harmony. 

"  I  will  stand  by  you  as  firmly  as  I  know  you  will 
by  me." 

On  December  4,  1889,  at  a  visit  paid  in  Dessau,  at 
the  court  of  Anhalt,  the  Kaiser  spoke  enthusiastically 
of  the  great  ancestor  of  the  reigning  duke,  one  of  the 
greatest  generals  under  Frederick  the  Great,  and 
assured  him  of  the  undying  gratitude  of  the  Prussian 
people. 

Toasting  the  Grand-duke  Louis  IV.  of  Hesse,  at  a 
visit  paid  in  Darmstadt,  the  Kaiser  said: 

" .  .  .  I  was  permitted  to  spend  two  years  of  my 
life  here  in  your  house,  two  years  which  I  reckon 
among  the  brightest  and  most  profitable.  ..." 

At  the  manoeuvres  of  the  two  Bavarian  army  corps, 
on  September  11,  1891,  the  Kaiser  formally  thanked  the 
Prince-Regent  Luitpold  for  having  been  permitted  to 
view  "  the  perfectly  drilled  Bavarian  army,  ready  for 
instant  war."    The  Kaiser  thus  concluded  his  remarks : 

"  I  am  convinced  that  the  Bavarian  army  would 
prove  itself,  in  the  event  of  war,  as  efficient  as  at 
Weissenburg  and  Sedan.  This  is  mainly  owing  to  the 
exertions  of  your  Royal  Highness  and  to  those  of  the 

144 


THE   KAISER  AND   THE   GERMAN    RULERS 

Bavarian  princes  actively  serving  in  the  army.  It 
has  given  me  great  joy  to  meet  and  become  better 
acquainted  with  the  members  of  the  Bavarian  royal 
house  on  the  occasion  of  these  manoeuvres." 

October  6,  1891,  King  Carl  of  Wurtemberg  died, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew,  King  William  II., 
who  had  served  as  an  officer  in  the  same  hussar  regi- 
ment of  the  guard  corps  in  Potsdam  in  which  the 
Kaiser  himself  had  received  a  part  of  his  military  ed- 
ucation. It  is  partly  owing  to  this  fact  that  the  new 
ruler  of  Wurtemberg  is  on  much  more  intimate  and 
friendly  terms  with  the  Kaiser  than  his  predecessor 
ever  was.  On  January  25,  1892,  the  royal  couple  of 
Wurtemberg  visited  Berlin,  and  was  welcomed  by  the 
Emperor  in  a  speech  in  which  he  said : 

"...  This  friendship  which  unites  us  and  our  coun- 
tries will  promote  the  welfare  of  our  common  father- 
land. .  .  ." 

At  a  banquet  given  after  a  grand  military  parade  in 
Metz,  on  September  9,  1893,  the  Kaiser  delivered  a 
panegyric  upon  his  uncle,  the  Grand-duke  Frederick  of 
Baden,  reviewing  the  latter's  brilliant  career  as  a  sol- 
dier during  the  war  of  1870-71,  praising  his  excellent 
thoroughness  in  keeping  the  Baden  contingent  of  the 
German  army  abreast  of  the  Prussian  one,  and  accord- 
ing him  warm  commendation  for  his  patriotism  and 
his  steadfast  advocacy  of  unity  in  the  empire.  On 
September  nth,  but  two  days  later,  after  reviewing 
the  14th  (Baden)  Army  Corps,  the  Kaiser  lauded  the 
Grand-duke  Frederick  in  even  more  cordial  terms,  and 
did  full  justice  to  Badenese  valor  and  military  efficien- 
cy. He  also  dwelt  in  his  address  with  special  empha- 
sis on  the  fact  that  Grand-duke  Frederick  had  played 

145 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

a  large  part  in  the  winter  of  1870-71  in  winning  over 
South  Germany  to  the  idea  of  consolidating  with  the 
North  into  a  united  empire. 

When  Grand-duke  Ernst  Louis  of  Hesse  followed  his 
father  in  the  reign,  on  March  13,  1892,  relations  be- 
tween that  grand-duchy  and  Prussia  became  also  more 
intimate  and  pleasant,  partially  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  Grand-duke's  mother1  and  the  Kaiser's  mother 
had  been  sisters.  The  Kaiser  paid  the  court  at 
Darmstadt  a  visit  of  some  length  in  October,  1894, 
and  at  the  banquet  on  the  15  th  he  spoke  in  a  highly 
flattering  manner  of  his  relations  with  the  grand-ducal 
family. 

To  Prince  Leopold  of  Bavaria,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
latter's  appointment  as  field-marshal,  the  Kaiser  wrote, 
on  February  16,  1896,  a  letter  of  congratulation,  recall- 
ing Prince  Leopold's  victory  over  the  French  at  Ville- 
pion,  and  lauding  him  for  his  unceasing  efforts  to  in- 
crease the  efficiency  of  the  Bavarian  army. 

After  a  review  of  the  12th  (Saxon)  Army  Corps,  on 
September  3,  1896,  at  Zeithain,  the  Kaiser  spoke  in  en- 
thusiastic praise  of  the  efficiency  of  the  Saxon  con- 
tingent. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  seventieth  birthday  of  Grand- 
duke  Frederick  of  Baden,  on  September  9,  1896,  the 
Kaiser  sent  a  warmly  worded  telegram  to  him. 

On  leaving  Gorlitz,  after  the  big  autumn  army  ma- 
noeuvres, on  September  12,  1896,  the  Kaiser  wired  to 
the  King  of  Saxony  a  message  full  of  appreciation  for 
the  excellent  condition  of  the  Saxon  army  corps,  and 
also  on  the  personal  efforts  towards  that  end  made 
by  King  Albert  and  his  brother,  Prince  George. 

At  the  centenary  celebration  in  honor  of  William  I., 
on  March  22,  1897,  nearly  all  German  sovereigns  and 

1  The  Grand-duke's  mother  was  Princess  Alice,  a  sister  of  the  Em- 
press Frederick. — Ed. 

146 


THE   KAISfeR  AND  THE   GERMAN    RULERS 

the  immediate  members  of  their  households  were  as- 
sembled in  Berlin.  At  the  banquet  in  the  royal  castle 
the  Kaiser  proposed  a  toast  in  which  he  said : 

"...  With  a  heart  touched  to  the  quick,  I  thank 
you  all,  my  cousins,  uncles,  and  august  allies,  and  also 
the  representatives  of  foreign  sovereigns,  for  sharing 
to-day  our  celebration,  and  thereby  proving  anew  that 
Europe's  dynasties  are  united  by  one  common  tie  of 
family  affection,  and  that  the  joy  and  sorrow  of  one 
is  the  concern  of  all. 

"  It  is  not  mine  to  laud  to-day  the  undying  merits  of 
my  great  sire,  of  my  late  grandfather.  What  we  have 
seen  to-day,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  people  have 
participated,  shows  how  living  his  achievements,  how 
unforgotten  his  whole  personality,  stand  before  our 
eyes. 

"I  believe  that  his  spirit  mingles  to-day  with  his 
people,  and  assuredly  it  must  have  visited  his  battle- 
scarred  veterans  and  banners.  We  recall  him  in  his 
humility,  his  plain  simplicity,  and  his  unflinching  re- 
gard for  duty.  We  recall  him  as  the  son  of  that  match- 
less, lovely  queen,  and  as  the  one  who  said  that  he 
had  learned  more  by  his  humiliations  than  by  all  his 
triumphs. 

"  For  us,  my  beloved  relatives  and  princes,  his 
memory  shall  be  a  renewed  spur  to  live  and  to  toil  for 
our  peoples,  to  join  in  reaching,  as  he  did,  the  goal  of 
advancing  civilization  and  of  assured  peace.  ..." 

At  the  banquet  which  was  given  in  honor  of  the 
Kaiser,  on  September  i,  1897,  in  the  old  "Burg"  of 
Nuremberg,  whose  keepers  for  the  old  German  emper- 
ors were  the  Hohenzollerns  during  the  early  Middle 
Ages,  the  Prince-Regent  Luitpold  of  Bavaria,  referring 
to  the  successful   manoeuvres   of   the   two   Bavarian 

147 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

army  corps,  and  in  the  presence  of  King  Humbert  of 
Italy  and  a  number  of  German  sovereigns,  said  a  few 
words  of  welcome  as  host.  He  spoke,  among  other 
things,  of  the  humble  origin  of  the  Hohenzollern  dy- 
nasty. The  Kaiser  replied  to  this  in  a  happy  vein, 
saying : 

" .  .  .  At  last  it  was  permitted  me  to  see  with  my 
own  eyes  this  splendid,  ancient,  and  thoroughly  Ger- 
man city,  and  to  sojourn  in  this  old  stronghold,  for 
centuries  the  bulwark  which  my  ancestors,  in  tried  and 
proven  fidelity,  kept  for  the  German  emperors.  And 
it  is  with  special  reverence  I  regard  these  walls  when  I 
recall  the  fact  that  it  is  precisely  in  Nuremberg  and  in 
this  very  spot  that  the  most  intimate  relations  between 
the  houses  of  Wittelsbach1  and  of  Hohenzollern  were 
knit.  As  good  friends  and  comrades  the  young  bur- 
grave  and  the  young  Wittelsbach  rode  together  in 
the  retinue  of  the  German  Kaiser,  to  fight  the  good 
fight  for  Emperor  and  empire.  It  was  the  Emperor 
Henry  VII.  who  knighted  my  own  ancestor,  Frederick 
IV.,  and  the  young  Bavarian,  subsequently  Emperor 
Louis,  while  in  camp  near  Rome,  and  this  same  an- 
cestor of  mine  afterwards  did  yeoman's  service  in 
fighting  faithfully  at  the  battle  of  Muhldorf,  helping 
the  forebear  of  your  Royal  Highness  to  fasten  the 
crown  on  his  head.  As  a  Nuremberger,  therefore,  and 
as  burgrave,  I  venture  to  render  hearty  thanks  to  your 
Royal  Highness,  and  to  express  the  wish  that  the 
Almighty  may  stretch  out  His  beneficent  hand  over 
your  Royal  Highness  and  over  your  whole  house." 

After  his  return  from  Palestine,  on  November  25, 
1898,  the  Kaiser  stopped  on  the  way  home  in  Munich 

'The  Wittelsbach  house  is  the  Bavarian  dynasty. — Ed. 
148 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN   RULERS 

and  effected  a  compromise  in  a  bitter  controversy 
which  had  broken  out  relative  to  the  establishment 
of  a  supreme  military  court,  with  jurisdiction  over  the 
whole  of  the  empire.  This  settled  amicably  a  matter 
about  which  the  Bavarian  press  and  people  had  be- 
come much  wrought  up,  and  the  waves  of  Borusso- 
phobia  once  more  calmed  down  in  Bavaria. 

On  September  8,  1899,  the  Kaiser,  after  reviewing 
the  Baden  contingent  of  the  army  at  Forchheim,  visit- 
ed the  Grand-duke  of  Baden  once  more  in  Carlsruhe, 
and  replied  to  a  toast,  saying: 

"...  It  was  granted  to  the  great  Kaiser  to  find, 
after  trials  and  probationary  work  lasting  many  years, 
those  German  princes  whose  hearts  glowed  with  en- 
thusiasm for  the  grand  cause,  and  who  held  up  his 
hands  and  helped  him.  The  safest  cement  for  the 
cohesion  of  the  fatherland  is  joint  and  intelligent  col- 
laboration and  the  blood  which  has  been  shed  in  a 
common  cause  on  the  field  of  battle." 

When,  on  June  23,  1900,  Grand-duke  Peter  of  Olden- 
burg died,  and  his  son,  August,  succeeded  him,  the 
Kaiser  sent  a  condoling  message  and  hastened  to  the 
obsequies. 

On  the  death  of  Duke  Alfred  of  Saxe-Coburg,  brother 
of  King  Edward  of  England,  on  July  30,  1900,  the 
Kaiser  wired  from  off  Heligoland,  on  board  the  Hohen- 
zollern,  messages  of  condolence  and  an  order  to  his 
navy,  in  which  he  spoke  with  high  appreciation  of  the 
lively  interest  which  the  deceased  had  taken  in  the 
development  of  the  German  navy. 

The  Kaiser  was  prevented  from  personally  attend- 
ing the  festivities  in  Munich  incident  to  the  completed 
eightieth  year  of  life  of  the  Prince- Regent  Luitpold  of 
Bavaria,  he  being  sadly  disfigured  at  the  time  by  an 

149 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

injury  to  his  eye  and  cheek,  owing  to  a  heavy  piece 
of  iron  flung  at  him  by  a  lunatic  in  Bremen.  But 
he  did  not  fail  to  telegraph  congratulations,  and  to 
send  the  Crown-prince  in  his  own  stead. 

Quite  recently  the  Kaiser  once  more  incurred  the  ill- 
will  of  the  Bavarian  people,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he 
offered,  out  of  his  own  purse,  to  make  good  the  de- 
ficiency in  the  Bavarian  budget  in  the  matter  of  an 
annual  stipend  for  the  encouragement  of  art  in  that 
country,  which  the  Clericals  there  had  rejected  for 
party  purposes.  The  Bavarian  press  raged  for  many 
weeks,  and. told  the  Kaiser  plainly  to  keep  his  hands 
off  Bavarian  internal  affairs.  In  his  relations  with  the 
Bavarian  dynasty,  however,  the  incident  wrought  no 
perceptible  change  for  the  worse. 

On  April  27,  1901,  the  Kaiser  visited  Weimar,  where 
the  young  Grand-duke  William  Ernst,  just  attained  to 
the  throne,  welcomed  him,  and  the  Kaiser  replied  in  a 
neat  speech,  dwelling  on  the  blood  relationship  with  his 
family,  and  on  the  permanent  influence  for  good  upon 
German  literature  and  science  which  the  little  grand- 
duchy  had  had  in  Germany. 

On  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  reign  of  the 
Grand-duke  Frederick  of  Baden,  which  fell  on  April 
26,  1902,  the  Kaiser  again  delivered  himself  of  a  fine 
address,  in  which  he  did  ample  justice  to  his  uncle  as 
a  ruler  and  man. 

On  June  16,  1902,  the  semi-centenary  of  the  Ger- 
manic Museum  in  Nuremberg  took  place,  and  the 
imperial  couple,  as  well  as  several  German  sovereigns 
and  many  scientists,  attended.  The  Kaiser  spoke  in 
his  happiest  vein  on  that  occasion,  giving,  in  terse  and 
graphic  style,  a  rapid  survey  of  Germanic  culture  and 
political  development. 

Three  days  later,  June  19th,  King  Albert  of  Saxony 
died  after  a  lingering  illness.     The  Kaiser  happened  to 

150 


THE   KAISER   AND  THE   GERMAN    RULERS 

be  away  on  an  extensive  tour  in  the  Rhine  country, 
but  while  in  Wesel,  on  the  21st,  he  paid  his  life-long 
friend  and  mentor  a  glowing  tribute  in  a  speech  de- 
livered to  the  citizens  of  that  ancient  town  on  the  lower 
Rhine.  He  then  postponed  his  promised  visit  to  the 
Diisseldorf  Exposition,  and  hastened  to  Dresden  to 
participate  in  the  funeral  ceremonies. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Kaiser  systematically, 
studiously,  and  skilfully  has  seized  upon  every  chance 
to  render  first  the  complicated  and  rather  delicate 
relations  existing  between  him  as  Kaiser  and  as  King 
of  Prussia  and  the  German  sovereigns  as  intimate  and 
friendly  as  possible,  and  then  to  keep  them  so.  The 
task  is  one  requiring  great  tact,  patience,  and  vigilance, 
and  in  the  main  he  has  been  amazingly  successful, 
certainly  in  a  far  higher  degree  than  his  grandfather 
ever  was.  It  is  a  task,  too,  which  takes  up  a  relatively 
large  portion  of  his  time  and  energies,  but  it  was  worth 
all  it  cost  in  that,  for  on  a  close  understanding  and  on 
full  and  mutual  confidence  between  the  Kaiser  and  the 
other  German  sovereigns,  his  "colleagues,"  depends, 
indeed,  in  large  measure  the  coherence  of  the  empire 
as  a  whole. 


X 

THE  KAISER  AND  THE  GERMAN  ARMY 

His  exceedingly  intimate  relations  with  it  —  Rejuvenation 
process — His  letter  to  Moltke — The  Kaiser's  attempts  to  up- 
root extravagance  in  the  army — Partial  reorganization  and 
enlargement  of  the  army — A  telegram  praising  the  Poles  of 
Prussia — His  speeches  to  the  recruits — The  Kaiser's  charac- 
terization of  the  socialists — His  decree  to  limit  duelling  in 
the  army — His  conception  of  a  "good soldier  " — Calling  the 
army  "the  most  important  legacy  left"  by  his  grandfather 
— Reviving  military  traditions — His  order  prohibiting  gam- 
ing and  usury  in  the  army — Beginning  the  century  a  year  in 
advance — The  peculiar  class  spirit  bred  in  the  army  by  the 
Kaiser — Revolutionary  reminiscences. 

It  needs,  indeed,  no  emphasizing  of  the  fact  that  the 
German  army  and  his  relations  with  it  mean  much  for 
the  Kaiser.  Whether  his  estimate  of  its  importance  to 
him  and  to  the  existence  of  the  empire  is  a  just  one,  or 
whether  he  attaches  an  exaggerated  value  to  it,  is  a 
mooted  question.  At  any  rate,  his  estimate  of  it  has 
been  recorded  by  himself  on  many  occasions,  and  one 
of  his  main  efforts,  and  the  most  persistent  and  un- 
bending one,  has  been  ever  since  his  accession  to  keep 
this  mighty  instrument  and  token  of  sovereign  power 
not  only  in  as  good  a  condition  as  his  grandfather  left  it, 
but  steadily  to  render  it  stronger  and  more  trenchant. 
He  has  not  only  doubled  it  in  size,  but  he  has  improved 
in  many  ways  on  the  original,  introducing  reforms  and 
innovations,  and  encouraging  a  more  warlike  spirit  in 
rank  and  file. 

i52 


THE   KAISER   AND   THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

On  February  8,  1888,  the  Reichstag  had  passed,  with 
singular  unanimity,  the  army  increase  bill,  the  leader 
of  the  Ultramontane  Centre  party,  Baron  Franken- 
stein, in  answer  to  one  of  Bismarck's  most  eloquent  and 
forceful  speeches,  relinquishing  the  right  of  debate  to 
facilitate  and  hasten  its  adoption.  The  old  Emperor, 
William  I.,  lay  dying,  and  his  last  hours  were  made 
more  peaceful  by  the  nation's  patriotic  attitude,  for 
such  prompt  and  self-sacrificing  action  augured  well 
for  Germany's  success  in  a  new  war,  if  war  it  was  to  be, 
of  which  at  that  time  there  seemed  to  be  little  doubt. 
It  was  known  that  an  understanding  existed  between 
Alexander  III.  and  France,  and  Russia's  armies  stood, 
in  concentrated  hosts,  massed  and  ready  for  action  on 
the  German  frontier. 

Within  a  few  months  after  this  the  imperial  and  the 
Prussian  throne  had  been  twice  vacated  and  twice  re- 
filled, and  the  influence  of  these  rapid  changes  upon  the 
German  army  had  been  quite  palpable. 

Even  during  the  brief  three  months'  reign  of  the  Em- 
peror Frederick  a  number  of  changes  had  been  wrought. 
The  cuirassier  regiments  were  ordered  to  doff  their 
heavy  and  impractical  steel  coats;  the  entire  cavalry 
had  to  adopt  the  lance  as  a  weapon  of  war ;  a  new  drill 
regulation  was  decreed,  and  many  alterations  were 
made  in  the  rules  about  garrison  service.  Many  other 
innovations  were  set  afoot. 

Both  of  the  new  Kaisers  rapidly  reorganized  the 
corps  of  officers  in  the  army.  During  the  remainder 
of  the  year  1888  —  i.  e.,  within  nine  months  after  the 
death  of  William  I. — no  fewer  than  65  generals  and  156 
staff-officers  were  retired.  Of  the  14  army  corps  under 
Prussian  direction,  8  received  new  commanders,  of 
33  divisions  22,  and  of  100  infantry  and  cavalry  bri- 
gades 52.  On  August  3,  1888,  Moltke,  the  senile  chief 
and  brain  of  the  whole  army,  also  handed  in  his  res- 

153 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

ignation  as  head  of  the  great  general  staff,  and  the 
young  Kaiser  accepted  it,  though  in  the  most  touching 
and  conciliatory  form.  In  Moltke's  stead  came  Count 
Waldersee.  The  Kaiser  said  in  his  letter  to  the  old 
field-marshal : 

"  In  your  letter  of  the  3d  inst.  you  indicate,  with  a 
lucidity  and  unselfishness  which  have  illumined  your 
whole  life,  the  necessity  of  a  resolve  whose  justice  I  un- 
fortunately dare  not  dispute,  yet  whose  meaning  is  so 
far-reaching  and  weighty  that  I  can  only  partially  ac- 
cede to  your  request.  ...  I  cannot  miss  your  counsel  so 
long  as  you  are  alive,  and  I  must  retain  you  in  the 
army,  which  will  always  look  up  to  you  with  unlimited 
confidence.  ..." 

The  Kaiser,  therefore,  while  granting  the  request  of 
the  ninety-year-old  hero  to  take  off  his  shoulders  the 
burden  and  grave  responsibility  of  his  position  as  active 
chief  of  the  great  general  staff,  imposed  upon  his  suc- 
cessor in  that  office  the  duty  of  advising  with  and 
seeking  the  counsel  of  the  aged  Count  Moltke  at 
every  important  step,  and  intrusted  to  him  the 
chairmanship  of  the  commission  for  national  de- 
fence. 

When  Moltke  soon  after  celebrated  his  ninetieth  birth- 
day, amid  national  rejoicings,  the  Kaiser  presented  him 
with  a  diamond-incrusted  field-marshal's  baton,  a  per- 
fect work  of  art  and  valued  at  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  and  conferred  special  honors  on  him.  In  the 
presence  of  the  generals  of  the  whole  German  army  and 
of  a  number  of  princes  and  sovereigns,  he  addressed 
the  veteran  with  every  mark  of  conspicuous  venera- 
tion, and  ordered,  as  a  sign  of  the  highest  favor  of  his 
liege,  that  the  bullet-torn  and  powder-singed  banners 
of  the  guard  corps  be  left  that  day  in  Moltke's  ante- 

T54 


THE   KAISER   AND   THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

chamber,  a  prerogative  at  all  other  times  solely  inher- 
ent in  the  monarch. 

On  April  25,  1891,  late  in  the  evening,  the  old  field- 
marshal  died  a  calm  and  painless  death,  and  the  Kaiser, 
who  was  absent  in  Weimar,  wired  to  the  family: 

"  The  blow  has  dazed  me.  Am  hastening  back  home. 
Please  consult,  meanwhile,  Hahnke l  about  funeral  ar- 
rangements. Have  lost  an  army  in  him,  and  cannot 
yet  comprehend  it.  William  I.  R." 

The  day  after  the  Kaiser  issued  a  cabinet  order,  in 
which  he  spoke  of  the  "irretrievable  loss  which  my 
army  and  the  whole  German  fatherland  have  suffered," 
and  in  which  he  pithily  characterized  the  deceased  in 
these  words : 

"Till  the  last  breath  the  deceased  has  served,  in 
modest  simplicity,  in  unselfish  fulfilment  of  duty,  and 
in  unswerving  fidelity,  my  glorious  sires  and  myself, 
and  has  earned  imperishable  merits  for  the  renown  of 
the  army  and  the  fatherland's  welfare,  by  his  match- 
less capacity  and  his  brilliant  achievements,  in  victo- 
rious wars  as  well  as  during  the  calm  of  peace.  The 
country's  gratitude  will  ever  follow  him." 

On  the  Kaiser's  birthday,  January  27,  1889,  he  con- 
ferred, as  a  token  of  special  satisfaction  and  confidence, 
distinctive  appellations,  chosen  from  the  names  of 
famous  Prussian  generals,  upon  a  number  of  regiments 
and  battalions.  On  that  day,  too,  as  he  let  the  army 
know  in  an  ordre  du  jour,  he  caused  the  army  ban- 
ners, until  then  still  guarded  in  the  death-chamber  of 
the  old  emperor,  William  I.,  to  be  thence  conveyed, 

1  Lieutenant-General  von  Hahnke,  chief  of  the  Emperor's  private 
military  cabinet. — Ed. 

155 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

under  appropriate  ceremonies,  to  his  own  quarters  in 
the  royal  castle  in  Berlin.  The  order  recited,  in  terms 
of  filial  piety,  the  virtues  and  deeds  of  his  grand- 
father, and  called  upon  the  entire  army  to  emulate 
them. 

The  famous  dragoon  regiment  "Schwedt"  com- 
memorated, on  April  24,  1889,  the  bicentenary  of  its 
existence,  and  the  Kaiser  delivered  himself  of  an  ad- 
dress in  which  he  reminded  the  regiment  of  its  glorious 
past,  and  specially  of  the  great  day  at  Kollin,  when, 
under  Frederick  the  Great's  command,  it  had  greatly 
distinguished  itself. 

During  the  luncheon  given  the  Kaiser  by  the  officers 
of  the  King's  Uhlan  Regiment  in  Hanover,  on  Decem- 
ber 13,  1889,  the  monarch  said,  among  other  things: 

"...  Times  have  changed.  Nowadays  it  is  neces- 
sary for  the  cavalry  to  fight  with  other  weapons.  This 
regiment  has  materially  aided  in  effecting  a  remodel- 
ling and  a  modification  in  the  armament  of  the  entire 
cavalry,  the  lance  being  added.  Again  and  again  the 
reports  which  I  called  for  from  the  army  on  that 
score  mentioned  with  particular  praise  the  splendid 
achievements  which  this  regiment  attained  with  the 
lance  during  the  last  great  campaign.  .  .  .  Your  reg- 
iment may  justly  be  proud  of  the  fact  that  it  has 
quasi  served  as  the  model  for  our  entire  cavalry.  .  .  . 
In  the  hope  that  the  regiment  will  show  the  same 
dash  and  valor  when  it  again  meets  the  foe,  I  raise  my 
glass  and  shout:  My  regiment — long  may  it  live  and 
flourish!" 

On  February  15,  1890,  the  Kaiser  issued  a  cabinet 
order  dealing  with  an  abuse  of  power  which  had  for 
some  time  crept  into  the  army.  It  was  addressed  to 
the  Minister  of  War,  and  said : 

156 


THE   KAISER  AND   THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

" .  .  .  In  my  army  every  soldier  is  to  be  treated 
according  to  law,  justly  and  humanely.  Only  thus 
is  it  possible  to  inspire  him  with  zeal  and  devotion  to 
duty  and  love  and  respect  for  his  superiors." 

This  order  had  been  directly  occasioned  by  the  fact 
that  Prince  George  of  Saxony,  in  his  capacity  of  mili- 
tary inspector  of  a  large  part  of  the  Prussian  army,  had 
remarked  the  prevalence  of  cruel  and  brutal  treat- 
ment of  soldiers  by  their  superiors,  especially  by  the 
subaltern  and  non-commissioned  officers,  and  had 
drawn  the  Kaiser's  attention  to  the  fact  in  his  reports. 
The  Kaiser's  repeated  directions  have,  however,  not 
done  away  with  this  evil,  as  many  trials  and  incidents 
in  the  recent  past  have  proven. 

Even  more  sensational  was  another  cabinet  order  of 
the  Kaiser's,  dated  March  29,  1890,  which  dealt  with 
another  evil  become  very  noticeable  in  the  German 
army.     The  document  read: 

"  Not  alone  nobility  of  birth  can  to-day,  as  it  did 
formerly,  exclusively  entitle  to  the  prerogative  of  fur- 
nishing the  officers  for  my  army.  But  the  nobility 
of  character,  which  has  at  all  times  distinguished  our 
officers,  must  be,  now  more  than  ever,  insisted  upon  in 
such  appointments.  And  that  is  only  possible  if  the 
aspirants  for  officers'  places  are  taken  solely  from 
those  strata  of  the  population  with  whom  nobility  of 
character  and  a  high  conception  of  life  are  at  home. 
Next  to  the  scions  of  noble  families  of  the  country, 
and  next  to  the  sons  of  my  honorable  officers  and 
officials,  who  form,  in  accord  with  ancient  tradition, 
the  corner-stone  and  fundamental  pillars  of  my  corps 
of  officers,  I  consider  that  the  future  of  my  army  rests 
also  on  the  sons  of  such  estimable  citizen  families 
with  whom  the  reverence  for  king  and  fatherland,  a 

i57 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

cordial  appreciation  of  the  soldier's  profession,  and 
Christian  culture  are  nurtured  and  cherished.  .  .  . 

"...  I  disapprove  of  making  entrance  into  the 
corps  of  army  officers  conditional  on  exorbitantly  high 
home  allowances,  which  would  exclude  the  sons  of 
families  but  moderately  blessed  with  worldly  goods, 
but  in  similarity  of  conceptions  and  sympathies  closely 
kin  to  my  corps  of  officers.  .  .  . 

"...  I  strongly  disapprove  the  idea  that  any 
officer  in  my  army  is  to  be  estimated  according  to  the 
size  of  the  allowance  granted  him  from  home.  On 
the  contrary,  I  rank  in  my  mind  those  regiments  the 
highest  whose  officers  know  how  to  do  their  full  duty, 
joyously  and  with  alacrity,  and  who  nevertheless 
receive  but  modest  allowances  from  their  families. 
This  is  in  accord  with  old  Prussian  traditions.  .  .  . 

"...  I  desire  with  all  my  heart  that  my  officers, 
duty  done,  enjoy  life.  But  the  growing  luxury  in  the 
army  must  be  opposed  seriously  and  persistently."  ' 

During  1890  the  strength  of  the  German  army  on 
a  peace  footing  was  again  increased.  The  warlike 
clouds  on  the  horizon,  especially  in  the  direction  of 
Russia  and  France,  made  this  necessary.  The  Kaiser 
pointed  this  out  in  his  speech  from  the  throne  on  the 
opening  of  the  Reichstag,  May  6th.  The  nation's  rep- 
resentatives acted  promptly  on  the  hint,  and  on  Oc- 
tober 1st  of  the  same  year  the  new  order  of  things 
went  into  effect. 

After  a  parade  of  the  5th  Army  Corps,  at  Liegnitz,  on 
September  15th,  the  Kaiser  dwelt  in  a  speech  on  the 
historical  reminiscences  which  the  locality  awakened, 


1  The  salaries  and  other  perqui- 
sites paid  to  all  German  officers 
below  the  rank  of  colonel  are  so 
low  that  the  possession  of  a  pri- 
vate fortune,  a  wealthy  wife,  or  a 

158 


regular  and  assured  money  allow- 
ance from  the  family,  varying  be- 
tween twenty  and  one  hundred 
dollars  per  month,  is  absolutely 
essential. — Ed. 


THE    KAISER   AND   THE    GERMAN    ARMY 

Field-marshal  Blucher  having  won  a  great  battle  over 
the  French  there  in  1813;  and  then,  turning  to  one  of 
the  regiments  present,  the  Grenadiers  King  William 
I.,  he  said,  referring  to  its  splendid  record  in  recent 
campaigns : 

"  Particularly  must  I  mention  one  day,  the  day  of 
Weissenburg, *  where  the  regiment  had  the  satisfaction 
of  fighting  against  a  brave  foe,  one  who  defended  him- 
self desperately,  and  to  take  his  almost  impregnable 
positions  by  storm  and  thus  win  the  engagement.  It 
was  there  where  the  regiment,  under  the  eyes  of  my 
father,  received  its  first  grand  baptism  of  fire,  and 
where  my  father  had  the  sad  joy  to  catch  in  his  arms 
Major  von  Kaisenberg,  mortally  wounded,  and  to  im- 
print on  his  dying  lips  a  kiss  of  parting. 

"These  are  incidents  which  are  recorded  in  our  his- 
tory in  imperishable  characters,  and  especially  in  the 
history  of  this  regiment  and  of  this  corps. 

"I  trust  that  the  spirit,  the  discipline,  and  the 
devotion  by  which  this  corps  shone  during  the  last 
wars  will  again  shine  forth  in  later  times,  in  war  as  in 
peace.  ..." 

New  banners  and  standards  were  given  the  newly 
created  regiments  in  the  following  year,  1891,  and  on 
April  1 8th  the  ceremony  of  nailing  these  symbols  to 
their  staffs  was  performed  by  the  Kaiser  at  the  royal 
castle  in  Berlin.     On  that  day  he  said : 

"Pro  gloria  et  patria.  That  is  the  superscription  of 
the  day.  It  is  a  day  of  reminiscence  and  of  patriotic 
sentiment,  of  courage  and  of  confidence,  which  never 
have  forsaken  Prussia  and  her  army. 

1  At  the  opening  of  the  war  of  1870-71. — Ed. 
159 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

41  If  I  speak  to-day  for  our  whole  country,  it  is  because 
I  recall  that  three  hundred  and  seventy  years  ago, 
on  another  18th  of  April,  that  fearless  Wittenberg 
monk  spoke  his  great  words :  4  Here  I  stand,  I  cannot 
do  otherwise,  so  help  me  God !'  And  the  first  who  took 
an  interest  in  the  undaunted  monk  was  a  man  of  war, 
Georg  Frundsberg,  who  shouted  to  him :  '  Monklin, 
monklin,  thou'rt  on  a  desperate  errand!'  But  God 
blessed  this  errand  of  his,  for  the  good  of  our  nation, 
and  particularly  of  our  part  of  it. 

44  Many  a  similar  errand  have  our  nation  and  our  house 
and  with  it  the  Prussian  army  done.  The  18th  of  April 
has  always  been  rife  with  meaning  for  us.  On  April 
1 8,  141 7,  Burgrave  Frederick  I.  received  the  Mark 
Brandenburg  as  an  imperial  fief.  On  April  18,  1864, 
Prince  Frederick  Charles  led  the  Prussian  and  the  Aus- 
trian troops  against  a  brave  foe  at  Diippeln,  and  fur- 
nished them  the  opportunity  to  wrest  these  fortifica- 
tions away  from  the  valorous  adversary.  .  . .  The  soldier 
and  the  army,  and  not  parliamentary  majorities  nor 
parliamentary  resolutions,  have  welded  together  the 
German  Empire.  My  trust  is  in  the  army.  The  times 
are  serious,  those  in  which  we  live,  and  dark  days  per- 
haps await  us  in  the  years  to  come.  But  against  that 
I  put  the  words  of  my  late  grandfather  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  officers  in  Coblentz :  '  These  are  the  gentle- 
men,' he  said,  'on  whom  I  can  rely.'  That  is  likewise 
my  faith  and  my  trust.  And  whatever  may  happen, 
we  will  hold  untarnished  our  traditions  and  our  flag, 
mindful  of  the  saying  of  Albrecht  Achilles,1  '  I  know  of 
no  more  reputable  spot  to  die  in  than  in  the  midst  of 
my  foes.'  That,  too,  is  what  my  heart  tells  me,  and 
therein  lies  my  unshakable  confidence:  in  the  fidelity, 
the  courage,  and  the  devotion  of  my  army." 

'Albrecht  Achilles,  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  Hohenzollern  mar- 
graves of  Brandenburg. — Ed. 

160 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

At  the  jubilee  of  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  engineer  battalion  No.  3,  at  Torgau,  on 
November  25,  1891,  the  Kaiser  made  a  speech  in  which 
he  mentioned  that  one  of  his  own  military  instructors, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Diener,  had  been  of  that  branch  of 
the  service,  and  had  come  from  that  very  battalion, 
and  then  continued : 

"  The  spirit  of  the  battalion  is  the  good  old  Prussian 
one.  It  is  my  desire  and  my  hope  that  this  will  remain 
so.  .  .  .  Recent  developments  in  the  art  of  war  demand 
a  new  technique  in  the  construction  of  fortifications. 
You  must  keep  your  eyes  on  that  goal,  firmly,  steadfast- 
ly, and  without  preconceived  opinions.  I  do  not  doubt 
that  if  the  time  should  come  again  for  the  battalion  to 
do  deeds  as  at  Schweidnitz,  Diippel,  and  Alsen,  it  will 
add  new  laurels  to  the  wreath  of  warlike  glories  encir- 
cling the  Prussian  army.  And  the  heroism  of  Klinke ' 
and  his  comrades,  some  of  whom  still  belong  to  the  en- 
gineer department,  has  become  the  model  and  the  sym- 
bol for  the  later  generations  of  the  battalion.  ..." 


The  continuation  of  rather  strained  relations  with 
Russia  and  France,  and  Germany's  anxiety  that  these 
two  powers  were  steadily  moving  in  the  direction  of  an 
offensive  war  with  her,  in  which  the  young  empire 
would  have  to  face,  single-handed,  these  two  formidable 
military  powers,  were  understood  to  be  the  reason  why 
in  1892  another  bill  was  framed  by  the  Kaiser's  advisers 
and  introduced  into  the  Reichstag — a  bill  providing  for 


1  While  storming  the  Diippel 
fortifications,  during  the  war 
with  Denmark  in  1863-64,  a 
private  of  the  engineer  corps 
named  Klinke  blew  up  a  palisade 
that  retarded  the  progress  of  the 
storming  columns,    and   belong- 


ing to  Bastion  No.  2,  by  pushing 
a  sack  of  powder  under  it  and 
then  igniting  it.  By  this  deed 
he  deliberately  sacrificed  his  life. 
This  was  one  of  the  most  pict- 
uresque and  thrilling  incidents  of 
that  war. — Ed. 


161 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

another  increase  in  Germany's  army.  The  new  im- 
perial chancellor,  General  Count  Caprivi,  on  the  27th 
of  November  of  that  year  stated  before  the  Reichstag 
the  government's  reasons  for  presenting  this  bill;  but 
five  days  earlier,  in  his  speech  from  the  throne,  the 
Kaiser  himself  had  rather  tersely  put  the  case  to  the 
delegates.  Without  being  downright  bellicose,  it  was 
calculated  to  create  alarm  and  to  rouse  German  patri- 
otic spirit.     He  said: 

"...  The  development  of  the  military  forces  of  other 
European  countries  makes  it  our  serious,  nay,  impera- 
tive, duty  promptly  to  take  measures  looking  to  the 
increase  of  our  own  defensive  powers.  .  .  .  The  allied 
governments  present  to  you,  therefore,  for  acceptance 
a  bill  which,  while  containing  provisions  for  an  increase 
of  our  peace  strength,  will  enable  us  fully  to  utilize  our 
armed  forces.  In  so  doing  they  do  not  undervalue  the 
sacrifice  which  you  are  expected  to  make  in  behalf 
of  the  nation,  but,  with  me,  they  trust  that  the  vital 
necessity  of  this  sacrifice  will  be  recognized  more  and 
more  generally,  and  that  the  patriotism  of  our  people 
will  make  them  willing  to  assume  those  burdens  which 
the  honor  and  safety  of  the  fatherland  demand.  .  .  . 

"Gentlemen,  in  inviting  you  to  begin  your  sessions, 
I  do  so  knowing  that  it  needs  no  special  urging  to  con- 
duct the  debates  in  a  manner  compatible  with  your  love 
of  country.  The  firm  will  of  the  nation  to  preserve  the 
inheritance  left  it  by  our  fathers,  to  safeguard  peace, 
and  to  maintain  those  sacred  trusts  confided  to  our  be- 
loved country,  will  lead  you,  I  am  quite  confident,  into 
the  paths  designated  by  me  and  my  august  allies.  If 
that  be  done,  the  empire  will  be  able  to  proceed  calmly 
on  its  way,  trusting  in  God  and  in  its  own  strength." 

However,  this  time  the  passage  of  the  new  military 

162 


THE   KAISER   AND  THE   GERMAN    ARMY 

increase  bill  was  no  easy  matter.  There  were  stormy 
scenes  in  the  Reichstag,  and  it  looked  like  a  foregone 
conclusion  that  the  opposition  would  be  strong  enough, 
on  mustering  its  adherents,  to  defeat  the  measure  in 
the  end.  On  New  Year's  Day,  1893,  the  Kaiser,  at  the 
customary  reception  given  by  him  to  the  generals  of  the 
army,  spoke  very  sharply  about  proceedings  in  the 
Reichstag.  He  used  the  term  that  he  "would  crush 
the  opposition."  At  the  final  vote  on  the  bill,  May  6th, 
it  was  rejected  by  two  hundred  and  ten  against  one 
hundred  and  sixty- two.  Thereupon  the  Kaiser  dis- 
solved the  obstreperous  body  and  appealed  to  the  coun- 
try. The  election  took  place  in  the  middle  of  the  fol- 
lowing month.  Meanwhile,  however,  three  days  after 
the  dissolution  of  the  Reichstag,  the  Kaiser,  after  an 
inspection  of  a  large  body  of  troops  on  the  Tempelhof 
field,  near  Berlin,  spoke  to  his  generals  and  staff  officers 
about  his  disappointment,  saying  he  hoped  for  the  pas- 
sage of  the  bill  by  a  new  Reichstag,  concluding: 

"  But  if  this  hope  should  be  deceived,  I  am  resolved 
to  do  all  that  is  humanly  possible  in  order  to  attain 
my  end.  For  I  am  fully  convinced  that  this  military 
increase  bill  must  be  adopted  if  we  are  to  maintain 
peace.  ...  I  know  that  I  am  in  this  matter  of  one  mind 
with  the  other  sovereign  rulers  of  Germany,  with  the 
people,  and  with  the  army." 

The  election,  however,  went  favorably  to  the  Kaiser's 
wishes,  and  the  newly  chosen  delegates  passed  the  bill 
on  July  15th,  even  the  Polish  delegates  voting  for  it. 
To  the  leader  of  the  Poles,  De  Koscielski,  the  Kaiser 
sent  a  telegram  of  thanks,  saying: 

"  I  thank  you  and  your  countrymen  for  your  fidelity 
towards  me  and  my  house.     Let  it  be  a  model  for  all." 

163 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

The  Italian  Crown -prince,  now  King  Victor  Em- 
manuel, witnessed  the  great  fall  manoeuvres  of  the  Ger- 
man army  that  year,  and  after  a  brilliant  parade,  in 
honor  of  Sedan  Day,  on  September  2,  1893,  near  Treves, 
the  distinguished  guests  and  their  host  went  by  rail  to 
Coblentz,  where,  at  the  banquet,  the  Kaiser  made  a 
speech,  in  which  he  dwelt  with  emphasis  and  at  some 
length  on  the  life  and  the  long  residence  in  Coblentz  of 
his  grandmother,  the  Empress  Augusta.  One  of  the 
passages,  reverting  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  1870, 
was  as  follows: 

"...  I  distinctly  recall  the  day  you  marched  forth. 
With  eyes  wet  with  tears,  and  with  her  blessing,  she 
dismissed  you  and  called  to  the  officers  that  no  matter 
what  might  happen,  they  were  always  to  feel  and  con- 
duct themselves  as  her  sons.  And  when  the  regiment, 
on  the  evening  of  the  bloody  day  of  St.  Privat,  after 
a  dearly  purchased  victory,  had  left  three-fourths  of 
its  officers  slain  or  wounded  on  the  battle-field,  those 
who  had  remained  alive  sent  to  her  Majesty,  for  them- 
selves and  for  those  now  lying  dead,  the  message 
that  they  had  been  faithful  to  their  oath  and  pledge 
as  sons  of  their  mother,  and  that  they  had  done  their 
duty " 

Some  characteristic  utterances  were  made  by  the 
Kaiser  on  October  18,  1894,  when  the  ceremony  of  the 
nailing  and  religious  dedication  of  the  one  hundred  and 
thirty-two  new  flags  and  standards  made  necessary  by 
the  army  increase  took  place.  It  was  done  in  the  Hall 
of  Glories,  in  Berlin,  the  day  being  further  memorable 
as  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  his  father,  the  Em- 
peror Frederick.  He  spoke  of  his  ancestor  Frederick 
the  Great,  and  then  passed  on  to  the  time  of  186 1.  He 
said: 

164 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

"Just  as  then,  in  1861,  when  my  grandfather  set 
about  the  task  of  reorganizing  the  army,  he  was  misun- 
derstood by  many,  and  opposed  by  still  more,  yet  was 
justified  by  those  who  came  later;  as  then,  so  now, 
discord  and  distrust  rule  among  the  people.  The  only 
pillar  on  which  our  empire  rested  was  the  army.  And 
so  to-day.  ..." 

Another  military  address  of  his  which  was  severely 
criticised  was  the  one  to  the  recruits,  on  having  the 
oath  of  obedience  administered  to  them,  November  1 5 , 
1894.     He  remarked : 

"  After  the  oath  you  have  just  sworn,  I  salute  you  as 
my  soldiers.  If  you  want  to  become  good  soldiers  you 
must  become  good  Christians  and  must  have  religion 
in  your  hearts.  As  soldiers  of  my  guards  you  are  now 
wearing  a  uniform  specially  honoring  you.  Do  not  for- 
get that  you  wear  the  coat  of  your  king.  Honor  that 
coat,  and  keep  in  mind  that  you  have  been  deemed 
worthy  to  discharge  your  service  before  my  eyes,  and 
that  by  entering  the  army  you  have  become  nobles. 
Now  gaze  upon  the  flags  in  front  of  you,  each  connected 
with  a  glorious  page  in  your  country's  history.  Do  not 
allow  them  to  be  slandered.  Remember  the  statues 
of  the  kings  and  military  chiefs  which  now  look  down 
upon  you.  Remember  the  oath  you  have  sworn.  Then 
you  will  be  good  soldiers.  Do  not  forget  that  you  are 
chosen  for  defenders  of  the  fatherland,  and  that  it  is 
your  duty  to  protect  order  and  religion  in  the  land. 
And  now  go  and  discharge  your  service  taught  you  at 
my  orders." 

During  1895  the  quarter-century  anniversaries  of  the 
various  battles  that  occurred  during  the  war  of  1870-71 
were  kept  with  more  or  less  military  pageant  and  splen- 

165 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

dor.  The  battle  of  St.  Privat,  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant and  hard -fought  of  all,  was  commemorated  on 
August  15  th  by  the  Kaiser  by  a  gala  parade  of  the 
first  brigade  of  the  guards.     He  said  to  them : 

"...  The  colors  of  my  house  shall  henceforth  fly  be- 
fore the  regiment,  as  a  renewed  warning  to  keep  your 
sworn  faith  with  me  and  mine,  as  you  have  hitherto 
always  done.  .  .  . 

"...  And  should  it  be  again  required  of  you  to  go, 
as  part  of  my  army,  to  protect  the  boundaries  of  the 
fatherland,  I  count  on  it  that  the  first  brigade  of  the 
guards  will  fight  with  the  same  devotion  and  fidel- 
ity which  it  showed  at  St.  Privat,  twenty  -  five  years 
ago. 

On  the  Tempelhof  field,  on  August  19th,  the  Kaiser 
reviewed  fourteen  thousand  veterans  of  the  war,  and 
then  spoke  to  them  in  stirring,  patriotic  fashion. 

Sedan  Day  was,  of  course,  likewise  kept  on  Septem- 
ber 2d,  the  whole  guard  corps,  twenty  -  five  thousand 
strong,  parading  in  the  presence  of  the  Kaiser  and  of 
his  chief  guest,  King  Albert  of  Saxony,  as  well  as  of 
King  William  II.  of  Wurtemberg.  At  the  banquet  the 
Kaiser  spoke  at  some  length. 

He  reviewed  in  graphic,  pregnant  sentences  the  days 
that  had  led  up  to  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  III.  at 
Sedan,  and  then  said : 

"...  Bravely  the  foe  battled  for  his  laurels.  For 
his  Emperor,  too,  and  for  his  glorious  past,  fought  he 
with  the  courage  of  despair.  For  his  all,  his  hearth 
and  home,  and  for  national  consolidation,  fought  the 
German.  Hence,  too,  it  touches  us  to  the  quick  that 
every  one  who  has  worn  the  Emperor's  coat  in  those 
days  or  who  still  wears  it,  is  specially  honored  by  the 

166 


THE   KAISER  AND   THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

nation  when  this  memorial  day  comes  around  once 
more:  one  single,  upflaming  rush  of  gratitude  for 
Emperor  William  I. !  And  for  us,  in  particular  for  us 
younger  ones,  the  task  is  to  preserve  what  the  Emperor 
founded,  what  he  won. 

"  But  into  the  mighty  current  of  joy  and  elation  a 
tone  obtrudes  itself  which  surely  has  no  place  there. 
A  horde  of  men,  unworthy  to  bear  the  name  of  Ger- 
mans, dares  to  slander  the  German  people,  dares  to  be- 
smirch the  sacred  person  of  the  universally  venerated 
old  Emperor.  May  the  people  in  their  might  find  the 
strength  to  repel  such  unheard-of  attacks ! l  If  it  is  not 
done — well,  I  will  call  upon  you,  in  defence  against  this 
traitorous  throng,  to  wage  a  war  which  will  rid  us  of 
such  elements." 

This  speech,  delivered  before  the  representatives  of 
the  empire  and  of  the  army,  wound  up  with  a  toast  to 
the  guard  corps,  and  to  its  leader  in  1870-71,  King  Al- 
bert of  Saxony. 

At  the  memorial  celebration  on  account  of  the  battle 
of  Le  Bourget,  held  by  the  sharp-shooters'  battalion  of 
the  Guards,  on  October  30th,  the  Kaiser  spoke  of  the 
work  done  by  his  grandfather  in  implanting  in  the 
German  army 

"...  the  three  cardinal  virtues  of  the  soldier:  the 
sentiment  of  honor,  blind  and  unquestioning  obedience, 
and  a  courage  superior  to  all  difficulties.  If  this  be 
further  maintained  in  this  battalion — nay,  in  the  whole 


1  This  singular  speech,  it  seems, 
was  occasioned  by  an  article  in 
the  main  socialist  organ,  the  Vor- 
wdrts,  that  morning,  in  which  the 
prevailing  style  of  adulation  in 
reference  to  the  late  Emperor 
William  I.,  such   as   the   Kaiser 


himself  had  particularly  culti- 
vated for  some  time,  was  con- 
demned, and  the  merits  of  that 
monarch  in  respect  of  national 
unity,  etc.,  critically  examined, 
though  in  a  rather  malevolent 
spirit. — Ed. 

167 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

army — we  can  face  with  equanimity  every  situation 
which  may  arise  in  the  future." 

The  Kaiser's  own  cuirassier  regiment,  in  Breslau, 
kept  on  December  2d  the  battle-day  of  Loigny,  and  on 
that  occasion  again  the  monarch  attended.  He  said  in 
his  speech  that  it  had  given  him  great  pleasure  that  all 
through  the  empire  during  the  past  five  months  the 
memory  of  the  army's  great  achievements  in  the  last 
war  had  not  been  permitted  to  die  out,  but  that  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  army,  as  well  as  the  whole  nation, 
had  shown  an  admirable  and  unanimous  enthusiasm  in 
recalling  those  heroic  days.     Then  he  continued: 

"...  And  the  more  catch-phrases  and  party  consid- 
erations are  allowed  to  interfere  with  this,  the  more  I 
rely  and  count  upon  my  army,  and  the  more  decidedly 
do  I  hope  that  my  army  will  promptly  obey  the  slight- 
est of  my  wishes  and  commands,  whether  it  be  against 
internal  or  external  foes.  ..." 

On  September  7,  1896,  the  Czar  and  the  Kaiser  met 
in  Breslau,  and  on  an  immense  neighboring  plain,  the 
Moyser  field,  a  gala  parade  of  the  Prussian  5th  Army 
Corps  took  place  in  the  presence  of  these  two  monarchs, 
and  of  a  large  number  of  smaller  sovereigns  and  dis- 
tinguished personages  of  every  kind.  At  the  banquet 
which  was  subsequently  given  in  Gorlitz,  the  Kaiser 
referred  in  a  flattering  manner  to  his  guest,  the  Czar, 
saying : 

"...  Because  of  the  presence  to-day  of  his  Majesty 
the  Czar  of  Russia,  it  was  a  special  pleasure  to  me  to 
review  this  corps  in  such  excellent  condition.  .  .  .  He, 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  mightiest  armies,  yet 
desires  to  employ  his  troops  solely  in  the  service  of  civ- 

168 


THE    KAISER   AND   THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

ilization  and  for  the  safeguarding  of  peace.  In  perfect 
accord  with  myself,  his  purpose  is  to  bring  all  the  na- 
tions of  Europe  closer  together,  and  to  consolidate  them 
for  the  defence  of  our  most  sacred  possessions  on  the 
basis  of  our  common  interests.  ..." 

On  New  Year's  Day,  1897,  the  Kaiser  issued  a  cabinet 
order  the  professed  purpose  of  which  was  to  restrain 
and  reduce  the  prevalence  of  the  duelling  custom  in 
army  circles.     In  it  he  said: 

"  I  demand  that  stricter  preventive  measures  be 
adopted  in  regard  to  duelling  between  my  officers.  The 
causes  leading  to  them  are  often  of  a  trivial  nature, 
such  as  private  controversies  and  such  offensive  re- 
marks as  might  be  amicably  adjusted  without  reflect- 
ing on  professional  honor. 

"  Officers  must  be  brought  to  see  that  it  is  wrong  to 
infringe  on  the  honor  of  another.  If  he  has  acted  in 
haste  or  in  momentary  excitement,  he  acts  but  hon- 
orably by  admitting  himself  in  the  wrong,  and  offering 
to  settle  the  matter  in  friendly  fashion.  And  not  less 
is  it  proper  for  him  who  has  met  with  an  injury,  or  who 
has  been  offended,  to  accept  the  hand  of  reconcilia- 
tion, in  so  far  as  professional  honor  and  good-breed- 
ing admit. 

"  It  is,  therefore,  my  will  that  councils  of  honor 
henceforth  co-operate  in  the  settlement  of  affairs  of 
honor.  Such  councils  are  to  discharge  this  duty  with 
a  conscientious  effort  to  bring  about  an  amicable 
understanding." 

The  effect  of  this  order  has  not  been  as  great  as  the 
German  Liberal  press  at  the  time  expected,  but  it  has 
borne  at  least  some  fruit,  since  the  number  of  duels  in 
the  army  has  somewhat  decreased  of  late  years. 

169 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

At  the  centenary  celebration  of  the  King  Grenadiers 
at  Liegnitz,  June  16,  1897,  the  Kaiser  spoke  to  the 
corps  of  officers,  in  the  regimental  barracks,  about  the 
historical  occasions  on  which  the  regiment  had  distin- 
guished itself,  and  commended  especially  the  soldierly 
spirit  which  had  always  characterized  it.  Then  he 
added : 

"...  This  spirit,  and  I  trust  you  will  nourish  and  pre- 
serve it,  exists  also,  God  be  praised !  in  the  whole  army, 
and  the  more  it  will  be  cultivated  the  more  efficient  the 
army  will  be  and  remain.  For  the  chief  strength  of  the 
army  is  the  power  and  force  of  tradition,  and  tradition 
lives  with  unusual  potency  in  this  regiment.  It  is  the 
force  of  tradition  which,  in  peace  as  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle, makes  the  heart  beat  faster  for  king  and  father- 
land, and  which  inspires  it  to  deeds  of  glory.  ..." 

At  the  big  Kaiser  manoeuvres  in  Homburg,  Septem- 
ber 4,  1897,  which  were  also  attended  by  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  the  King  of  Italy,  and  a  number  of  German 
sovereigns,  the  Kaiser  made  a  political  speech,  lauding 
the  Triple  Alliance  as  a  guarantee  of  peace. 

Facing  the  historic  monument  of  Frederick  the  Great 
in  Berlin,  sixty- three  new  flags  were  handed  over,  with 
impressive  ceremonies,  to  the  commanders  and  delega- 
tions of  the  new  regiments,  on  October  17,  1897,  the  an- 
niversary of  the  great  battle  of  Leipzig,  marking  the 
first  downfall  of  Napoleon  I.  The  Kaiser  spoke  in  a 
patriotic  vein,  concluding  as  follows: 

"...  May  these  new  regiments  perpetuate  the  chief 
characteristics  of  our  great  Kaiser:  unselfish  devotion 
to  the  whole,  and  the  full  employment  of  all  faculties, 
body  and  soul,  for  the  glory  of  the  army  and  the  safety 
of  the  beloved  fatherland.  ..." 

170 


THE   KAISER   AND  THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

To  the  recruits  of  the  large  Potsdam  garrison,  on 
November  16,  1897,  in  administering  the  military  oath, 
the  Kaiser  said: 

"Whoever  is  no  thorough  Christian  is  no  thorough 
man.  Neither  is  he  a  good  Prussian  soldier,  and  he 
cannot  fulfil  all  those  requirements  which  are  made  of 
him  as  a  soldier  in  the  Prussian  army.  For  your  duties 
are  no  easy  ones.  They  demand  self-denial  and  self- 
control,  the  highest  Christian  virtues.  They  demand 
absolute  obedience  and  subordination  under  the  will  of 
your  superiors." 

At  the  completion  of  the  first  ten  years  of  his  reign, 
on  June  15,  1898,  the  Kaiser  assembled  all  his  body 
troops  in  the  royal  park  of  Potsdam,  the  Lustgarten, 
and  said  to  them: 

"  The  most  important  legacy  left  me  by  my  grand- 
father and  father  is  the  army,  and  with  joy  and  pride 
have  I  accepted  it.  To  the  army  my  first  decree  was 
issued  on  ascending  the  throne.  To  the  army  I  now 
again  address  myself  on  entering  upon  the  second  de- 
cennium  of  my  reign.  .  .  . 

"  Rarely,  I  believe,  has  so  trying  a  time  passed  over 
the  head  of  a  ruler  as  over  mine  during  these  last  ten 
years — I,  who  saw  my  grandfather  and  father  die,  to 
my  deep  sorrow,  within  so  short  a  space  of  time.  With 
grave  anxiety  I  placed  the  crown  upon  my  head. 
Everywhere  I  met  doubt,  and  the  whole  world  mis- 
judged me.  But  one  had  confidence  in  me ;  but  one 
believed  in  me — that  was  the  army.  And  relying  upon 
the  army,  and  trusting  in  God,  I  began  my  reign,  know- 
ing well  that  the  army  is  the  main  tower  of  strength  for 
my  country,  the  main  pillar  supporting  the  Prussian 
throne,  to  which  God  in  His  wisdom  had  called  me.  .  .  . 

171 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

"  We  will  continue  to  work  together  for  the  next  ten 
years,  bound  to  each  other  in  the  same  faith,  fulfilling 
our  duty  with  the  same  absolute  fidelity  and  with 
never-slackening  toil.  And  may  the  foundation  of  our 
army  remain  unshaken:  courage,  honor,  and  unques- 
tioning, iron,  blind  obedience.  That  is  the  wish  I  ad- 
dress to-day  to  you  and  to  the  whole  army." 

At  the  outset  of  the  succeeding  year,  1899,  the  Kaiser 
deemed  it  wise  to  order  the  revival  of  the  traditional 
names,  customs,  and  some  separate  soldierly  peculiar- 
ities which  had  formerly  existed  within  the  regiments 
of  the  provinces  of  Hanover  and  Hesse  -  Cassel,  and 
which  had  been  wiped  out  when  these  provinces  were 
annexed  to  Prussia  in  1866  and  their  contingents  in- 
corporated with  the  Prussian  army.  In  the  army  order 
of  January  24th  the  Kaiser  gave  his  reasons  for  in- 
stituting these  changes,  and  on  Waterloo  Square,  in 
the  city  of  Hanover,  surrounded  by  the  officers  of 
the  10th  (the  Hanoverian)  Army  Corps,  he  addressed 
them.  At  the  luncheon  which  followed  in  the  officers' 
casino  of  the  Prince  Albrecht  Fusileers,  the  Kaiser 
pointed  out  that  his  main  motive  in  restoring  the 
"traditions"  of  the  Hanoverian  contingent  was  his 
abiding  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  traditions  in  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  an  army. 

A  similarly  worded  order  reached  the  nth  (Hessian) 
Army  Corps. 

A  highly  sensational  trial,  in  which  a  number  of  pro- 
fessional usurers  and  their — in  some  cases  highly  con- 
nected—  accomplices  were  criminally  prosecuted  and 
convicted,  and  in  which  scores  of  army  officers  were  in- 
volved, a  series  of  high-life  scandals  growing  out  of  it, 
had  laid  bare  one  of  the  worst  failings  in  the  German 
army — the  prevalence  of  indebtedness  to  "army  usu- 
rers" and  the  unclean  practices  in  vogue  with  them. 

172 


THE    KAISER  AND   THE   GERMAN   ARMY 

The  Kaiser,  therefore,  on  February  23,  1899,  issued  the 
following  order  to  the  army: 

"  Late  occurrences  have  shown  me  again  the  fre- 
quency of  dishonest  but  alluring  offers  made  by  pro- 
fessional money-lenders  to  the  officers  of  my  army. 
The  carelessness  of  youth,  and  inexperience  in  finan- 
cial affairs,  bring  it  about  that  opportunities  thus 
offered  often  mark  the  first  step  towards  serious  em- 
barrassment— nay,  worse,  complete  ruin.  I  demand 
the  use  of  every  means  to  keep  such  temptations 
away  from  my  officers.  My  previous  order  of  July  5, 
1888,  must  remain  before  every  officer's  eyes  as  the 
expression  of  my  deliberate  will.  I  herewith  ordain 
that  henceforth  each  and  every  officer  is  bound  to 
report  to  his  superiors  all  offers  of  shady  money  trans- 
actions which  shall  reach  him.  ..." 

On  the  anniversary  of  Waterloo,  June  18,  1899,  the 
Kaiser  received  in  Kiel,  on  board  the  Hohenzollern,  a 
delegation  of  former  Hanoverian  army  officers,  who 
presented  him,  as  a  token  of  their  appreciation  of  his 
January  order  (alluded  to  above),  a  miniature  repro- 
duction in  silver  of  the  Waterloo  column  in  Hanover. 
The  Kaiser  replied  to  their  spokesmen  at  some  length, 
diving  into  reminiscences  of  the  days  of  Waterloo.  He 
invited  the  delegation  to  dinner  on  board  his  yacht, 
and  toasted  them  and  their  old  comrades  as  follows : 

"  In  perfect  accord  with  the  Hanoverian  regiments 
who  are  to-day  assembled  in  their  garrisons  to  cele- 
brate, by  my  direction,  the  anniversary  of  the  great 
day  of  Waterloo,  and  with  my  English  dragoons,  I 
empty  this  glass  to  the  memory  of  the  old  Hanoverian 
army  and  to  the  future  of  my  present  Hanoverian 
regiments." 

i73 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

By  the  Kaiser's  orders  the  commencement  of  the 
twentieth  century  was  fixed  and  celebrated  in  Ger- 
many on  January  i,  1900.  On  that  day  a  military 
divine  service  was  held  in  the  huge  inner  square  of 
the  Hall  of  Glories  in  Berlin,  and  at  a  certain  point 
in  it  the  Kaiser  addressed  the  assembled  corps  of 
officers  as  follows: 

"The  first  day  of  the  new  century  sees  our  army — 
that  is,  our  nation  in  arms — grouped  around  their  ban- 
ners, bending  the  knee  to  the  Lord  of  hosts.  And  truly, 
if  anybody  have  special  cause  to  bend  down  before 
God,  it  is  our  army. 

"A  glance  at  our  flags  here  suffices  for  explanation, 
for  they  embody  our  history.  How  did  the  dawn  of 
the  past  century  find  our  army? 

"  The  glorious  soldiers  of  Frederick  the  Great  had 
fallen  asleep  on  their  laurels,  ossified  in  the  trivial  de- 
tails of  a  senseless,  antiquated  drill;  led  by  superan- 
nuated, unready,  and  unwarlike  generals ;  their  officers 
no  longer  used  to  serious  work,  and  degenerated  by 
luxury,  sloth,  and  blind  self-glorification.  In  a  word, 
the  army  no  longer  sufficed  for  its  task.  It  had  for- 
gotten it.  Severe  was  the  punishment  meted  out  to  it 
by  Heaven,  a  punishment  which  likewise  chastised  our 
people.  Thrown  into  the  dust  were  we.  Frederick's 
fame  paled,  and  his  glorious  banners  were  broken.  In 
the  seven  long  years  of  our  hard  servitude  God  taught 
our  people  to  gather  new  strength.  Under  the  iron 
pressure  of  the  insolent  conqueror's  heel,  our  people  in 
bitter  travail  of  spirit  conceived  the  high  thought  that 
it  is  greatest  honor  to  devote  life  and  property  in  mil- 
itary service  to  the  fatherland. 

"My  great-grandfather  gave  form  and  substance  to 
this  conception.  New  laurels  crowned  the  new-born 
army  and  its  banners.     But  it  was  through  my  grand- 

174 


THE   KAISER   AND   THE    GERMAN   ARMY 

father,  our  great,  our  dead  Emperor,  that  general  mil- 
itary service  became  a  full,  a  living  reality.  In  quiet, 
persistent  labor  he  drafted  his  system  of  reorganization, 
out  of  which,  despite  all  opposition  which  misappre- 
hension caused,  grew  our  army  of  to-day.  Victorious 
campaigns,  however,  crowned  his  labors  in  unexpected 
fulness. 

"  His  spirit  pervaded  the  rank  and  file  of  his  armies, 
and  his  trust  in  God  led  them  on  to  matchless  victories. 
With  this,  his  own  creation,  he  at  length  drew  together 
again  the  tribes  of  Germany,  and  he  gave  us  back 
longed-for  German  unity.  To  him  we  owe  it  that 
through  this  army  the  German  Empire,  honored  by 
all,  once  more  occupies  its  destined  and  appropriate 
position  in  the  council  of  nations.  It  is  your  part, 
gentlemen,  to  manifest  during  the  new  century  the  old 
qualities  by  which  our  sires  have  made  the  army  great 
and  invincible — simplicity  and  plainness  in  your  style 
of  living,  absolute  devotion  to  the  service  of  the  King, 
fullest  utilization  of  all  your  strength  and  gifts,  both  of 
body  and  soul,  in  ceaseless  toil  for  the  development  and 
drilling  of  our  troops. 

"And  as  my  grandfather  did  for  the  army,  so,  too,  I 
mean  to  continue  for  my  navy,  in  spite  of  all  discour- 
agement and  misconceptions,  the  work  of  development, 
in  order  that  the  navy  shall  be,  side  by  side  with  my 
army,  of  equal  power  and  strength,  and  thus  achieve 
for  the  German  Empire  at  home  and  abroad  that  posi- 
tion which  we  as  yet  have  not  attained. 

"  Jointly  with  both  I  hope  to  be  one  day  in  condition, 
trusting  fully  in  the  aid  of  God,  to  realize  the  saying  of 
Frederick  William  I. :  'If  one  wishes  to  decide  some- 
thing in  this  world,  it  is  not  the  pen  alone  that  will  do 
it  if  unsupported  by  the  power  of  the  sword.' " 

To  the  whole  army  the  Kaiser  issued  an  ordre  du 

i75 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

jour,  in  which  he,  in  picturesque  and  powerfully  stirring 
language,  followed  about  the  same  train  of  reasoning. 

At  the  swearing-in  of  the  recruits  in  Berlin,  on  No- 
vember 7,  1900,  the  Kaiser  spoke  briefly,  again  dwell- 
ing, as  on  former  similar  occasions,  on  their  dual 
duty — fight  and  conquer  the  enemy  within  and  with- 
out. 

Quite  sensational  were  the  contents  of  a  speech  he 
made  to  the  Emperor  Alexander  Regiment  of  the  guard 
corps,  when,  on  March  28,  190 1,  he  personally  conduct- 
ed them  from  their  old  barracks  in  a  distant  part  of 
Berlin  to  their  new  quarters  near  the  royal  castle.  The 
press  of  Berlin  had  already  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  new  barracks  of  this  famous  regiment  had  been 
constructed  with  a  solidity  of  masonry  and  in  a  style 
that  made  it  virtually  a  fortress  and  almost  impreg- 
nable, the  outer  walls,  crenellated  on  top,  resembling 
casemates,  and  being  everywhere  loop-holed  for  the  use 
of  guns  and  rifles  from  within — in  a  word,  very  different 
from  any  other  barracks  in  the  city.  But  the  Kaiser's 
address  that  day,  delivered  impressively  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  huge  inner  court,  capped  the  climax  and 
aroused  universal  comment  throughout  Germany.  He 
said : 

"  Alexandriners,  for  your  regiment  a  new  chapter  of 
its  history  opens  with  to-day.  What  you  have  left 
behind  you  to-day  in  memories  will  take  new  life  here 
— memories  of  the  most  beautiful  days  of  peace  and 
memories  of  the  hottest  days  of  carnage.  Like  a  pow- 
erful stronghold  your  new  barracks  rise  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  my  castle,  whose  protection  at  any  and 
all  times  will  be  your  first  prerogative.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  Regiment  has  been  chosen,  in  a  sense,  as  my 
body-guard,  to  be  ready  to  sacrifice  its  life's  blood, 
day  and  night,  for  the  King  and  his  house,  whenever 

176 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN   ARMY 


you  are  called  upon  to  do  so.  And  if  ever  again  a  time 
should  come  in  this  town,  as  when,  in  rebellion  against 
the  King,  the  rabble  rose  up,1  I  am  confident  that 
the  Alexander  Regiment  will  succeed  in  energetically- 
quenching  all  such  disobedience  and  improper  conduct 
towards  their  royal  master.  ..." 

These  remarks  strikingly  illustrate  an  attitude  of  the 
Kaiser's  mind — namely,  so  far  as  the  socialist  and  lib- 
eral radical  aspirations  in  Germany  are  concerned.  He 
is  aware  of  the  strong  admixture  in  the  rank  and  file  of 
his  army  of  men  who  hold  advanced  political  views,  and 
he  tries  to  keep  them  in  check  by  completely  controlling 
the  mental  life  of  his  soldiers  and  by  subjecting  the  so- 
cialists among  them  to  the  overweening  influence  of  the 
thoroughly  loyal  majority  of  their  comrades.  Besides, 
he  is  often  roused  to  fury  by  the  steady  growth  of 
socialism  in  numbers  and  influence,  and  believes  the 
socialist  party  capable,  despite  their  frequent  public 
assurances  to  the  contrary,  of  inaugurating  another 
revolutionary  rising  in  Germany  if  they  are  given  the 
chance.  As  the  above  speech  was  delivered  without 
notes  and  evidently  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  it  ap- 
pears an  interesting  sample  of  the  inner  and  uncloaked 
workings  of  his  mind.    . 

This  much,  however,  is  beyond  question,  that  the 
Kaiser  had  succeeded,  during  the  fifteen  years  of  his 


'The  Kaiser  refers  here  to  the 
fact  that  during  the  Berlin  rising 
in  1848,  forming  an  integral  part 
of  the  general  and  successful  rev- 
olutionary movement  through- 
out Germany  for  the  obtaining 
of  constitutional  boundaries  to 
monarchic  institutions,  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  Regiment  was 
one  of  the  few  Prussian  regiments 
in  Berlin  which  remained  firmly 


attached  to  the  royal  cause  and 
as  against  the  popular  cause.  It 
was  noted  for  the  fierceness  with 
which  it  fought  the  people  dur- 
ing the  street  and  barricade  fights 
in  Berlin,  which  lasted  for  sever- 
al days,  and  were  only  ended  by 
the  order  of  the  Prussian  king, 
Frederick  William  IV.,  the  pres- 
ent Kaiser's  great-uncle,  for  the 
troops  to  withdraw. — Ed. 


177 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

reign,  in  securing  a  degree  of  intimacy  with  his  army, 
and  of  control  over  its  every  part,  such  as  no  Prussian 
king  since  the  time  of  Frederick  the  Great  has  enjoyed, 
not  even  excepting  his  father  and  grandfather,  both 
beloved  by  the  army. 


XI 

THE  KAISER  AND  THE  GERMAN  NAVY 

Its  creation  mainly  owing  to  him — His  incessant  solicitude  for 
it — The  secret  of  the  Kaiser's  thorough  knowledge  of  naval 
affairs — Preparatory  studies  while  still  Prince  William — 
Expert  lectures  to  his  officers — Outlining  Germany's  naval 
strategy  in  the  event  of  war — The  Kaiser's  confessed  am- 
bition is  to  make  his  navy  equally  formidable  with  the  army 
— His  speeches  to  the  naval  recruits — His  effective  agita- 
tion for  a  big  navy — The  Kaiser  enlightens  the  German  So- 
ciety of  Naval  Architects. 

Nobody  was  so  much  amazed  at  the  fact  that  the 
Kaiser,  immediately  after  ascending  the  throne,  dis- 
played a  keen  interest  in  the  development  of  the  Ger- 
man navy  and  began  to  show  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
naval  matters,  as  the  Germans  themselves.  For  while 
rumor  had  all  along  credited  the  young  prince  with  a 
passionate  love  of  military  affairs,  there  had  been  no 
suspicion  in  the  public  mind  that  his  leanings  towards 
naval  lore,  towards  sea-life,  and  a  greater  development 
of  Germany's  resources  on  the  ocean  were  even  stronger. 
The  German  mind  works  slowly  and  laboriously,  though 
in  the  end  correctly.  It  required  years  to  accustom  the 
German  public  to  the  thought,  but  at  last  it  woke  up  to 
the  fact  that  the  Kaiser  was  a  thorough  expert  in  naval 
matters,  that  his  urging  towards  naval  expansion  was 
justified  by  events,  and  that  a  much  larger  navy  was 
needed  for  Germany  to  safeguard  her  growing  interests 
as  a  world  power.     Since  that  conviction  has  spread 

179 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

throughout  the  empire,  the  Kaiser  has  had  plain  sailing 
in  realizing  his  dream— Germany  as  a  big  naval  power. 

When  William  II.  became  the  head  of  the  German 
nation,  in  1888,  the  navy  of  the  country  was  insignif- 
icant. It  was  very  small.  But  that  was  not  the  worst. 
The  twenty-seven  iron-clads  and  twenty-three  cruisers 
composing  it  were,  some  of  them,  not  much  better  than 
junk,  and  all  of  them  were  antiquated,  of  obsolete  con- 
struction, and  not  fit  to  go  into  battle  with  an  efficient 
foe.  The  navy  was  run  down.  Very  little  interest 
was  felt  in  it  by  the  nation  at  large.  As  a  naval  power 
Germany  then  ranked,  but  fifteen  years  ago,  away  be- 
low Italy,  even  below  Austria,  and  if  it  had  come  to 
actual  war,  her  naval  resistance  would  have  been  al- 
most nil. 

To-day  Germany  has  thirty-five  battle-ships,  all,  ex- 
cept a  very  few,  of  modern  build  and  of  fine  fighting 
power,  and  forty- two  cruisers  of  the  latest  type.  A 
large  number  of  first-class  vessels  are  in  process  of  con- 
struction, and,  proceeding  at  the  present  rate  of  speed, 
the  young  empire  will  have,  by  191 5,  a  navy  afloat 
equal  or  superior  to  any  other  in  fighting  strength  ex- 
cepting solely  the  British. 

This  creation  of  a  new  navy  was  the  work  of  the 
Kaiser.  Nay,  more,  the  enthusiasm  for  the  navy  and 
for  naval  expansion  which  is  to-day  a  striking  feature 
in  German  national  life,  was  likewise  his  work.  His 
activity  in  this  line  was  incessant,  and  his  fertile  brain 
suggested  constantly  novel  expedients  to  further  his 
aims.  By  word  of  mouth,  in  public  and  private,  by 
telegrams  and  letters  to  all  those  who  could  be  helpful 
to  him,  by  the  publication  and  wide  distribution  of 
pamphlets  preaching  his  doctrine,  by  lectures  before 
various  public  bodies,  and  by  encouragement  and  in- 
spiration, he  has  won  over,  in  a  campaign  lasting 
through  the  first  thirteen  years  of  his  reign,  the  nation 

180 


THE   KAISER   AND  THE  GERMAN   NAVY 

as  a  whole  to  his  ideas.  The  Reichstag  in  particular  he 
manipulated  very  cleverly.  For  years  he  was  met  by 
callousness  and  indifference,  but  he  prevailed  in  the 
end.  The  persistence  and  resourcefulness  exhibited  by 
him  in  this  matter,  coming  from  a  man  who  in  many 
other  respects  richly  deserved  his  German  nickname, 
William  the  Sudden  (Wtlhelm  der  Plotzliche),  deserve 
on  that  account  all  the  more  acknowledgment. 

Had  the  public  known  that  he,  while  still  plain  Prince 
William  and  residing  in  the  semi-seclusion  of  the  small 
marble  palace  in  Potsdam,  had  studied  hard  and  pa- 
tiently, in  close  touch  all  the  while  with  leading  naval 
experts  at  home  and  abroad,  the  surprise  would  not 
have  been  so  complete  at  the  discovery  later  on  that 
Germany  had  got  a  ruler,  for  the  first  time  in  her  his- 
tory, who  had  both  immense  aspirations  for  national 
sea-power  and  intimate  knowledge  as  to  the  means  of 
realizing  them. 

It  was  on  March  16,  1889,  that  the  small  German 
navy  met  with  a  severe  blow.  During  the  memorable 
hurricane  on  that  day,  the  German  cruiser  Adler,  the 
gunboat  Eber,  and  the  corvette  Olga  stranded  in  the 
harbor  of  Apia,  Samoa,  and  the  two  larger  vessels  were 
completely  lost,  together  with  their  officers  and  men. 
The  American  navy,  it  may  be  remembered,  suffered 
similar  losses  on  the  same  occasion.  A  month  later, 
when  the  corvette  Alexandrine  was  about  to  sail  for 
Samoa,  the  young  Kaiser  appeared  in  Wilhelmshaven ' 
and  addressed  the  parting  officers.  He  said  he  had 
come  to  testify  to  his  sympathy  for  the  victims  of  that 
catastrophe,  and  to  say  that  they  had  done  their  full 
duty  on  that  occasion.  He  reminded  his  hearers  of 
the  fact  that  when  the  Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia,  who 
had  been  sent  out  with  the  Great  Armada  by  Philip  II. 

1  Wilhelmshaven  is  one  of  the  two  large  German  naval  ports, 
Kiel  being  the  other. — Ed. 

181 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

of  Spain,  returned  empty-handed  to  his  monarch,  the 
latter  had  consoled  him,  saying:  "  To  fight  men,  not  the 
will  of  God,  I  sent  you!"     Then  he  continued: 

"Well,  comrades,  may  the  fine  example  given  us  by 
these  men  at  Apia,  and  by  the  men  of  the  Augusta, 
shine  before  our  eyes  always,  spurring  us  on  to  a  like 
fulfilment  of  duty.  May  the  spirit  of  devotion,  disci- 
pline, and  persistence  in  the  face  of  death,  which  dis- 
tinguishes my  navy  before  every  other,  remain  alive 
in  it " 

The  cession  of  Heligoland  by  England,  in  the  summer 
of  1890,  gave  the  Kaiser  the  welcome  opportunity  to 
point  out,  in  a  stirring  address  on  the  inauguration  of 
German  administration  on  the  island  itself,  August 
ioth,  and  in  an  order  to  the  navy,  the  high  strategical 
value  of  the  new  possession,  and  especially  its  impor- 
tance during  a  coming  naval  war. 

A  banquet  was  given  the  navy  by  the  Kaiser  in  the 
castle  of  Gravenstein,  near  Kiel,  on  September  6,  1890, 
and  the  monarch  on  that  occasion  toasted  his  corps  of 
naval  officers,  according  them  high  praise  for  the  able 
manner  in  which,  at  the  recent  naval  manoeuvres,  they 
had  conducted  themselves,  saying: 

"...  As  to  the  discipline,  and  particularly  the  train- 
ing of  your  men  in  gun-practice  and  ability  to  hit  float- 
ing and  moving  objects,  they  are  even  to-day  second  to 
none." 

After  the  Kaiser  had  broken  ground  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Baltic  Canal,  on  April  6,  1891,  there 
was  a  meeting  of  German  naval  officers  at  the  Naval 
Academy  in  Kiel,  and  several  of  their  number  read 
papers  on  the  actual  condition  of  the  various  navies 

182 


THE   KAISER  AND   THE   GERMAN   NAVY 

of  the  world,  Prince  Henry,  the  Kaiser's  brother,  being 
one  of  those  who  joined  in  the  discussion  afterwards. 
Then  the  Kaiser  himself,  without  notes  or  other  prepa- 
ration, spoke  to  those  present  for  the  space  of  about 
twenty-five  minutes.  In  the  main,  he  summarized  the 
conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  what  had  been  said.  His 
talk  culminated  in  a  general  definition  of  what  Ger- 
many's naval  strategy  ought  to  be  in  the  event  of  a 
future  naval  war. 

He  repudiated  earnestly  the  "  inactive  cunctator  pol- 
icy" pursued  by  the  small  and  but  half- formed  German 
navy  during  the  war  with  France  in  1870-71.  "The 
offensive  is  the  best  defence,"  he  said,  "on  land  as  on 
water."  That  doctrine,  he  further  remarked,  must  be- 
come an  axiom  with  the  German  navy  hereafter.  He 
elaborated  this  idea  and  gave  a  mass  of  further  details 
and  directions,  comparing  "our  iron-clad  fleet,  includ- 
ing the  new  vessels  and  the  torpedoes,  to  the  cavalry 
on  shore."  He  spoke  of  every  part  of  the  vessels  of 
new  construction,  and  of  its  special  tasks  and  difficul- 
ties, and  of  the  enormous  demands  made  on  the  ship!s 
commander  during  actual  engagement,  dwelling  with 
special  force  upon  the  absolute  necessity  of  keeping  his 
presence  of  mind  and  his  mental  and  moral  balance. 
"  Only  by  getting  in  close  to  your  adversary,  and  con- 
centrating your  efforts  in  one  mighty,  irresistible  shock, 
can  you  win,"  he  said.  He  reviewed  briefly  but  lucidly 
the  great  annual  naval  manoeuvres  of  England  since 
1888,  and  deduced  therefrom  the  lesson  that  in  the 
future  naval  wars  strategy  will  play  the  same  dominat- 
ing and  decisive  part  it  does  in  land  wars.  This  theory 
he  again  further  explained.  He  said  "  one  of  the  main 
objects  of  the  chief  naval  commander  hereafter  must 
be  the  judicious  choice  of  the  '  theatre  of  war,'  and 
the  forcing  of  the  enemy  onto  it."  This,  he  remarked, 
might  go  so  far,  under  given  circumstances,  as  to  send 

183 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

out  a  portion  of  the  most  powerful  vessels  and  swiftest 
cruisers  to  search  out  and  locate  the  hostile  fleet,  per- 
haps long  distances  from  home  and  days  ahead,  thus 
inflicting  serious  injury  on  the  enemy  and  disturbing 
his  tactical  arrangements  long  before  the  decisive  meet- 
ing could  take  place.     He  wound  up  his  talk  by  saying : 

"  To  our  leading  naval  officers  points  of  view  are  thus 
opened  which  demand  of  them  boldness  of  initiative, 
taxing  them  to  the  utmost.  Of  the  leading  command- 
ers of  our  naval  forces  tasks  will  henceforth  be  required 
similar  to  those  demanded  of  our  army." 

In  several  speeches  during  that  year  and  the  next 
he  expressed  regret  that  the  German  navy  was  too 
small  to  fulfil  commensurately  the  requirements  which 
the  future — perhaps  the  very  near  future — would  have 
in  store  for  it.  The  nation  as  a  whole  and  the  German 
press  showed  little  interest  in  these  remarks,  and  they 
provoked  small  comment. 

On  February  16,  1894,  at  a  trial- trip  made  by  the 
new  battle-ship  Brandenburg  in  the  harbor  of  Kiel,  there 
was  an  explosion  in  the  engine-room,  and  more  than 
twoscore  men  were  killed. 

The  Kaiser  sent  a  telegram  of  sympathy,  and  the 
victims  of  the  catastrophe  were  buried,  at  his  orders, 
with  the  same  ceremonies  as  if  they  had  been  killed  in 
battle.  He  also  caused  the  erection  of  a  memorial 
tablet  in  their  honor  in  the  navy  church  in  Kiel. 

A  few  days  later,  on  February  20th,  he  was  present 
at  the  ceremonies  commemorating  the  completion  of 
the  twenty-five  years  of  uninterrupted  service  of  the 
old  battle -ship  Konig  Wtlhelm,  which  took  place  in 
Wilhelmshaven.  He  made  a  speech,  again  pointing 
out  Germany's  need  of  a  larger  navy.  In  referring  to 
the  days  of  1870-71  and  the  unsatisfactory  share  the 

184 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE  GERMAN   NAVY 

German  navy  had  had  in  the  events  of  those  days,  he 
said: 

"...  Whoever  can  put  himself  in  the  place  of  our 
men  in  those  days,  and  imagine  their  feelings,  how 
they  were  for  months  close  to  the  enemy,  yet  not  per- 
mitted to  attack  him,  will  have  his  heart  filled  with 
bitterness  and  wrath." 

A  couple  of  months  later,  in  April,  1894,  the  imperial 
family  sojourned  in  Abbazia,  whence  the  Kaiser  made 
a  flying  visit  to  the  Austrian  naval  port  of  Pola,  close 
by,  on  the  Adriatic.  He  partook  of  a  luncheon  ten- 
dered him  by  the  Austrian  naval  officers,  and  addressed 
them  in  a  sympathetic  strain,  paying  a  warm  tribute 
to  the  late  Austrian  naval  hero,  Tegetthoff.1  Inci- 
dentally he  lauded  the  Triple  Alliance  and  Austria  as 
Germany's  faithful  ally. 

The  addresses  which  the  Kaiser  delivered  every 
year  to  the  naval  recruits,  on  the  occasion  of  admin- 
istering to  them  the  oath  of  service,  were  some  of  them 
quite  interesting.  On  December  3,  1894,  he  said  to 
them,  among  other  things: 

"...  You  wear  the  Emperor's  coat.  Thus  you  are 
lifted  up  out  of  the  common  herd,  and  are  put  on  a 
par  with  your  comrades  of  the  army  and  marine.  You 
occupy  a  noble  position,  and  you  assume  duties.  Many 
a  one  envies  you  that  coat  which  you  are  wearing." 

At  a  similar  ceremony  on  March  5,  1895,  at  Wilhelms- 
haven,  the  Kaiser  said : 

"You  have  come  here  to  swear  the  oath  of  fidelity. 

1  Admiral  von  Tegetthoff,  a  I  the  Italians  at  the  naval  battle 
German  by  birth,  the  victor  over  I  of  Lissa,  in  1866. — Ed. 

185 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

That  was  an  ancient  custom  of  our  ancestors,  and  it  has 
always  been  held  a  sacred  duty  to  keep  this  oath  faith- 
fully. As  I,  in  my  capacity  as  emperor  and  ruler,  de- 
vote myself  entirely  to  the  fatherland,  so  you  now  as- 
sume the  duty  to  devote  your  whole  -life  to  me.  For 
you  have  sworn  this  as  Christians,  and  as  Christians 
you  have  been  addressed  by  yonder  two  servants  of 
God.  .  .  . 

"Abroad  you  are  chosen  to  represent  the  fatherland 
by  your  good  and  dignified  conduct.  Our  navy,  it  is 
true,  is  small.  But  what  makes  it  stronger  than  other 
navies  is  our  iron  discipline,  the  unquestioning  obedi- 
ence to  superiors.  Thus  our  navy  will  grow  and  flour- 
ish, during  peaceful  times  to  promote  the  peaceable 
interests  of  the  fatherland,  and  in  war  times  to  de- 
stroy the  enemy,  if  God  helps  us.  .  .  ." 

On  July  26,  1895,  the  Kaiser  issued  a  decree  in  which 
he  regulated  the  settlement  of  "  affairs  of  honor"  in  the 
navy  in  analogy  with  the  regulations  in  that  respect 
binding  on  the  army. 

When  the  German  gunboat  litis  went  down,  during 
a  typhoon  on  the  coast  of  Shantung,  China,  July  23, 
1896,  with  the  captain  and  crew  cheering  the  Kaiser  as 
she  sank,  and  but  ten  out  of  a  total  of  eighty-five  sur- 
vived, the  Kaiser,  who  happened  to  be  on  his  mid- 
summer cruise  in  northern  waters,  sent  a  telegram 
from  Bergen,  Norway,  to  his  admiral,  Knorr,  paying  a 
high  tribute  of  respect  to  these  men.     He  said : 

"...  The  whole  country  will  mourn  with  me,  and  the 
navy  will  always  remember  with  gratitude  those  who 
saw  to  their  last  breath  the  highest  law  of  life  in  the 
faithful  discharge  of  their  duty." 

At  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Vic- 

186 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN   NAVY 

toria,  in  April,  1897,  he  sent  his  brother,  Prince  Henry, 
to  England  to  represent  him  on  the  occasion.  The  fol- 
lowing telegram,  sent  to  his  brother  just  before  he  set 
sail,  was  unquestionably  intended  for  effect  on  the 
whole  of  Germany,  but  more  particularly  on  the  ob- 
streperous Reichstag,  just  then  not  in  the  humor  for 
large  naval  appropriations: 

"  I  deeply  regret  my  inability  to  send  you  to  the  jubi- 
lee with  a  better  vessel  than  the  Konig  Wilhelm,  while 
other  nations  will  shine  with  their  proud  battle-ships. 
This  is  the  saddening  consequence  of  the  conduct  of 
those  enemies  of  the  fatherland1  who  contrive  to  pre- 
vent the  acquisition  of  much-needed  vessels.  But  I 
shall  never  rest  until  I  have  raised  my  navy  to  the 
same  height  as  the  army.  ..." 

There  were  at  that  moment  undoubtedly  other  and 
finer  vessels  than  the  worm-eaten  old  Konig  Wilhelm 
at  the  Kaiser's  disposal.  The  matter  was  simply  a  lit- 
tle coup  de  theatre,  done  for  effect.  And  it  did  have  the 
desired  effect  on  the  country.  From  that  year  on  the 
Kaiser  entered  on  a  regularly  planned  and  astutely  ex- 
ecuted campaign  for  the  enlargement,  or,  more  proper- 
ly speaking,  creation,  of  a  new  and  powerful  navy.  In 
this  he  successfully  employed  every  means— cajolery, 
threats,  public  and  private  commendation  or  censure, 
etc.,  and  by  maps  and  charts  designed  by  his  own  hand 
he  demonstrated  to  the  Reichstag  the  need  for  the  em- 
pire of  a  larger  navy,  furnishing  also  statistics,  com- 
parative tables,  and  drawings,  which  were  hung  up  in 

1  The  German  word  employed 
by  the  Kaiser  was  Vaterlands- 
losen — i.  e.,  "men  without  a  coun- 
try " —  and  was  aimed  at  those 
delegates  in  the  Reichstag,  espe- 
cially the  Socialists  and  Ultra- 


montanes,  who  refused  to  sanc- 
tion his  demands  that  year  for 
the  navy.  The  newly  elected 
Reichstag,  in  1898,  proved  itself 
to  be  in  a  more  generous  mood. 
—Ed. 


187 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

the  lobbies  of  the  national  parliament  building.    These 
means  were  quite  effective,  slowly  but  surely. 

To  the  marine  recruits  in  Wilhelmshaven  the  Kaiser 
said,  on  March  2,  1898,  referring  to  the  litis  incident 
and  to  the  seizure  of  Kiaochou,  in  China : 

"  You  have  sworn  upon  the  flag  of  our  navy,  which 
shows  the  colors,  black- white-red.  Black  symbolizes 
toil  and  mourning ;  white,  holidays  and  repose ;  red,  the 
blood  which  many  of  your  forebears  have  shed  for  the 
fatherland.  I  remind  you  of  the  fact  that  brave  sea- 
men have  gone  down  to  the  bottom  with  their  last 
thoughts  centred  upon  the  dear  fatherland  and  the 
flag  which  they  had  sworn  to  cherish.  Many  of  your 
comrades  have  gone  out  to  protect  the  country's  in- 
terests. Wherever  a  German  man  lies  under  the  sod, 
fallen  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duty  to  the  fa- 
therland, and  wherever  the  German  eagle  has  struck 
his  talons  into  a  land,  that  land,  I  say,  is  German  and 
will  remain  German.  ..." 

The  first  naval  enlargement  bill  was  adopted  by  the 
Reichstag  on  March  28,  1898,  and  the  Kaiser  noted  his 
joy  at  the  event  by  a  series  of  telegrams  to  the  Grand- 
duke  of  Baden,  to  the  Hamburg-American  line,  and 
others.  In  his  telegram  to  Burgomaster  Pauli,  of 
Bremen,  he  said : 

"...  As  the  German  army  has  secured  us  peace  on 
land,  so  similarly  the  German  navy  will  secure  us  peace 
on  sea,  and  therewith  the  undisturbed  development  of 
our  navigation,  in  which  the  city  of  Bremen  has  so 
prominent  a  share." 

Meanwhile,  due  largely  to  the  Kaiser's  inspiration 
and  ceaseless  efforts,  the  Deutsche  Flottenverein  (Ger- 

188 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN    NAVY 

man  Naval  Society)  had  been  formed,  a  body  of  naval 
enthusiasts  who  wished  to  promote  the  enlargement  of 
the  navy,  and  which  has  since  grown  to  a  membership 
of  eight  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  with  branch  so- 
cieties everywhere.  On  September  14,  1898,  the  Kaiser 
sent  to  the  president,  Prince  Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst, 
a  congratulatory  telegram  on  the  occasion  of  its  first 
annual  meeting.     He  said  in  it: 

"  May  the  patriotic  efforts  of  the  society  and  its  mem- 
bers contribute  to  the  conviction  that  a  more  rapid  and 
energetic  development  of  our  sea-power  is  a  necessity, 
and  that  this  conviction  may  take  deeper  root  in  the 
German  nation.  A  powerful  navy  is  one  of  the  most 
important  foundations  for  the  maintenance  of  the  great- 
ness and  prestige  of  the  empire,  as  it  also  is  for  the 
growth  of  our  economic  interests." 

Messages  similar  in  spirit  were  likewise  wired,  then 
and  soon  after,  to  several  German  sovereigns  who  had 
fathered  the  formation  of  branch  societies  in  their 
domains. 

On  May  25,  1899,  the  German  Society  of  Naval  Archi- 
tects was  formed,  on  the  model  of  the  British  one,  and 
the  Kaiser  sent  a  message  expressing  his  satisfaction 
thereat  to  the  president,  Busley,  in  Berlin. 

In  October,  1899,  the  cruiser  Kaiser  returned  from 
far  Asia,  and  the  Kaiser  spoke  to  the  crew  at  some 
length,  saying: 

"...  You  have  my  thanks,  as  your  commander-in- 
chief,  and  that  of  the  entire  fatherland,  for  having  once 
more  brought  renown  to  the  German  name  abroad. 
That  applies  especially  to  you,  who  are  now  standing 
before  me,  arms  at  rest,  and  who  have  done  your  share 
in  the  seizure  of  Kiaochou,  executed  at  my  orders. 

189 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

God  be  praised,  it  has  at  last  come  to  pass  that  every- 
body in  the  empire,  old  and  young,  high  and  humble, 
follows  with  affection  and  interest  every  one  of  our 
few  vessels  of  war  having  a  mission  to  perform  in  for- 
eign waters.  ..." 

Early  in  1900  another  and  much  more  comprehen- 
sive bill,  prepared  by  the  government  at  the  Kaiser's 
behest  and  looking  to  the  enlargement  of  the  navy  on 
a  more  solid  basis  and  extending  over  a  period  of  fif- 
teen years,  was  introduced  in  the  Reichstag.  The 
Kaiser  thereupon  redoubled  his  efforts  in  the  way  of 
making  propaganda  for  this  measure,  and  showered 
telegrams  on  all  those  German  sovereigns  or  citizens 
who  were  prominently  engaged  in  furthering  his  ob- 
jects. Thus  he  telegraphed  to  Prince  Wied,  in  Berlin, 
president  of  the  Deutsche  Flottenverein ;  to  the  King 
of  Wurtemberg,  saying  to  the  latter: 

"...  I  trust  that  the  events  of  the  last  days  have 
convinced  widening  circles  that  not  Germany's  inter- 
ests alone,  but  also  her  honor  in  far-away  waters,  must 
be  protected,  and  that,  to  do  this,  Germany  must  be 
strong  and  mighty  on  the  seas." 

To  the  governor-general  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  Prince 
Hohenlohe-Langenburg,  who  had  announced  to  him  the 
formation  there  of  branches  of  the  Naval  Society,  he 
telegraphed  appreciatively  on  March  3,  1900,  saying: 

"...  That  the  importance  for  Germany  of  greater 
sea-power  is  recognized  more  and  more  clearly  and  gen- 
erally in  the  Reichslande,  proves  the  growing  German 
national  sentiment  of  the  Alsace- Lorrainers.  ..." 

One  of  the  most  effective  means  employed  by  the 

190 


THE   KAISER   AND   THE   GERMAN    NAVY 

Kaiser  to  interest  the  population  of  inner  Germany, 
away  from  the  extensive  coast-line,  for  his  naval  plans, 
and  thus  exert  through  them  a  strong  pressure  upon 
their  representatives  in  the  Reichstag,  was  the  de- 
spatching of  a  torpedo  fleet  up  the  Rhine.  He  had 
made  careful  preparations  for  this,  and  wherever  these 
small  boats,  decked  out  gayly  in  the  national  colors, 
stopped,  at  all  the  small  or  large  Rhine  ports  in  Prussia, 
Hesse,  Bavaria,  Baden,  officers  and  men  were  enthu- 
siastically welcomed  and  hospitably  entertained.  The 
great  majority  of  these  inland  people  had  never  seen  a 
war- vessel  before,  either  German  or  foreign,  and  their 
enthusiasm  and  curiosity  knew  no  bounds. 

In  special  telegrams  to  the  communal  councils  of 
Cologne  and  other  large  places  along  the  flotilla's  itin- 
erary, the  Kaiser  recommended  these  vessels  and  their 
crews  to  the  hospitality  of  the  citizens,  employing 
homely  phrases  for  the  purpose.  The  flotilla  thus  pene- 
trated, leaving  the  larger  vessels,  one  by  one,  behind 
at  centres  of  population,  and  the  smaller  ones  going  on 
to  the  very  limits  of  the  empire  in  the  southwest,  al- 
most to  the  sources  of  the  Rhine — viz.,  to  Ludwigs- 
hafen  and  Constance  by  the  lake  of  that  name.  The 
mission  was  eminently  successful. 

To  the  sovereigns  of  Hesse,  Bavaria,  and  Baden  the 
Kaiser  likewise  sent  sympathetic  telegrams  as  soon  as 
the  flotilla  had  arrived  within  their  territory. 

It  was  no  wonder,  then,  that  the  Reichstag  made  rec- 
ord time  in  debating  and  then  adopting  this  most  im- 
portant bill,  which  that  body  did  on  June  12,  1900. 
To  the  Senate  of  Hamburg  the  Kaiser  wired,  in  answer 
to  congratulations,  as  follows: 

"  I  have  received  your  telegram  with  pleasure.  Your 
words  show  me  anew  that  you  have  apprehended  my 
aims  and  labors,  and  that  you  have  faithfully  collabo- 

191 


THE    KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

rated  with  me.  You  will  believe  that  I  thank  the 
Almighty  for  this  success.  May  He  give  us,  also,  His 
assistance  for  the  remaining  work,  until  the  completion 
of  which  we  shall  have  to  continue  our  exertions  with- 
out abatement." 

And  to  the  directors  of  the  Hamburg- American  line 
he  sent  a  telegram  thanking  all  those  who  had  aided 
him,  and  then  adding: 

"...  And  now  let  us  go  on  in  the  good  work,  that  our 
navy  may  soon  appear  on  the  seas,  really  compelling 
respect,  and  as  an  additional  power  in  my  hands  to 
safeguard  peace  to  the  world." 

In  Kiel,  at  the  swearing-in  of  the  marines,  on  Novem- 
ber 23,  1900,  the  Kaiser  spoke  again  at  length.  He 
reviewed  briefly  the  growth  of  the  German  navy,  and 
spoke  of  the  heroic  death  of  the  litis  crew.  Then  he 
said: 

"  Suddenly  the  picture  has  changed.  .  .  .  Within  a  few 
months  men  of  our  navy  have  become  the  allies  of  those 
sent  by  the  civilized  Christian  nations  to  uphold  their 
faith  in  far-away  parts  and  to  maintain  order.  And 
while  out  there  guns  are  thundering  and  men  of  the 
different  navies  distinguish  themselves  by  bravery, 
many  a  one  losing  his  life  in  courageously  fighting,  you 
young  recruits  swear  the  oath  upon  our  flag.  ...  I  am 
convinced  that  many  a  one  out  there  has  had  a  minute 
or  an  hour  when  he  suddenly  felt  abandoned,  having 
only  himself  to  rely  upon,  and  fortified  only  by  the 
oath  he  had  taken.  I  can  say  with  pride  and  pleasure 
that  my  sons  have  not  disappointed  me.  I  gratefully 
acknowledge  what  your  brothers  have  accomplished 
out  there.     We  will  not  forget  that  a  new  word  of 

192 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN   NAVY 

command  fell  there  for  the  first  time  from  the  mouth 
of  a  foreign  leader:  'Germans  to  the  front!'  Your 
brothers  succeeded  in  cutting  out  their  comrades  from 
the  hands  of  an  overwhelming  foe.  because  they  re- 
membered their  oath.  ..." 

The  Kaiser,  of  course,  refers  here  to  incidents  of  the 
Chinese  troubles. 

Marine  reinforcements  left  Wilhelmshaven  for  Kiao- 
chou  on  March  4,  1901,  and  the  Kaiser  bade  them  God- 
speed, saying: 

"  Soldiers,  you  are  going  to  a  country  which  has  ex- 
perienced during  the  last  months  what  is  meant  by 
German  discipline,  German  valor,  and  German  military 
training.  The  foreigner  has  been  made  to  feel  what  it 
means  to  insult  the  German  Kaiser  and  his  soldiers. 
The  enemy  has  been  taught  a  severe  lesson,  and  all 
other  nations  have  seen  how  German  soldiers  fight, 
conquer,  and  die.  All  of  them  have  gained  respect  for 
our  art  of  war  and  for  our  training.  May  you  show  in 
foreign  countries  our  matchless  discipline,  our  unques- 
tioning obedience  and  bravery,  and  all  the  good  qualities 
of  body  and  soul.  May  you  be  instrumental  in  spread- 
ing the  glory  of  the  fatherland  all  over  the  earth.  ..." 

The  Kaiser  loves  to  surprise  his  people,  and  now  and 
then  he  does  thoroughly  unconventional  things.  In  the 
history  of  Prussia,  for  instance,  it  had  never  happened 
that  the  monarch  so  far  ignored  his  exalted  position 
as  to  attend,  as  one  in  the  audience,  a  public  meeting, 
and  then  to  mingle  with  his  subjects  on  terms  of  per- 
fect equality — nay,  more  than  that,  to  take  part  in  the 
general  debate,  and  to  address  the  meeting,  after  ob- 
taining permission  to  do  so  from  the  chairman,  in  an- 
swer to  some  previous  speaker.  Yet  that  is  precisely 
13  i93 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

what  the  Kaiser  did,  on  November  8,  1901,  at  the 
third  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  of  German  Naval 
Architects  in  Berlin.  The  subject  under  discussion 
was  one  of  special  interest  to  him  —  namely,  "The 
Development  in  the  Placing  of  Guns  on  Board  Battle- 
ships " — and  several  of  the  most  noted  German  experts 
had  spoken  at  length  on  the  topic.  But  when  the  Kai- 
ser rose  and  delivered,  off-hand,  and  in  an  easy,  conver- 
sational style,  in  his  high,  clear,  strident  voice,  a  lecture 
on  the  matter  which  went  to  the  very  marrow  of  it,  the 
general  impression  of  the  distinguished  audience  was 
that  a  man  had  spoken  who  understood  his  topic  in  its 
every  bearing.  The  main  part  of  his  speech  was  as 
follows : 

"  I  believe  that  this  question  has  been  discussed  in 
this  meeting  principally  from  the  technical  view-point. 
Perhaps  a  brief  reference  to  the  other  side  of  the  ques- 
tion will  not  be  without  interest.  I  mean  the  influence 
of  the  military  requirements  upon  this  development  in 
ship- construction  and  the  placement  of  the  artillery. 
The  previous  speaker  retraced  his  steps  as  far  as  the 
old  ships  of  the  line,  and  pointed  out  that  the  stern 
and  bow  fire  had  been  somewhat  neglected.  The  ships 
of  the  line,  it  must  be  remembered,  are  in  accord  with 
specific  military  and  technical  requirements.  But  I 
think  we  might  go  back  a  little  farther.  In  the  period 
of  the  galleys,  for  example,  a  very  energetic  develop- 
ment of  the  bow  fire  had  taken  place.  Comparing  the 
galleys  with  the  later  ships  of  the  line  simply  from  that 
point,  it  must  be  said  that  the  galleys  showed  a  high- 
er degree  of  development — for  the  galleys  had  to  rely 
upon  their  own  resources  of  propulsion  even  in  calm 
weather.  Hence,  too,  a  flotilla  of  galleys  pursued  dif- 
ferent tactics  from  the  ship  of  the  line.  They  had  to 
make  a  more  extensive  use  of  their  artillery.     And  be- 

194 


THE   KAISER  AND  THE   GERMAN   NAVY 

cause  of  that,  a  galley  fleet  drew  up  for  battle  in  a  wide 
front,  such  as  we  see  was  done  in  the  biggest  naval  en- 
gagement of  those  times — the  battle  of  Lepanto.  On 
that  occasion  the  admiral,  Don  Juan  d'Austria,  crushed 
the  enemy  by  the  superiority  of  his  bowsprit  artillery. 
These  requirements,  then,  are  in  accord  with  good  tac- 
tics, as  I  said  before,  and  the  tactics  again  depend  upon 
the  mode  of  propulsion  anterior  to  the  steam  method 
— using  wind  conditions  skilfully — while  the  different 
methods  in  vogue  at  that  time  and  since  depend  upon 
the  military  qualifications  and  peculiarities  of  each  na- 
tion. I  mean  by  that  more  particularly  the  relative 
progress  in  military  and  nautical  things,  as  well  as  their 
natural  disposition  regarding  the  offensive  or  defen- 
sive. We  see  it  by  the  manner  in  which  England  uses 
her  battle-ships — how  they  like  to  break  the  broad  for- 
mation of  the  battle-line  by  developing  the  keel-line, 
and  thus  splitting  up  the  advance  and  the  rear  guard. 
Why,  the  English  ships  were  built  for  these  very  tactics. 
From  all  of  which  results  the  great  necessity  of  the  bow 
and  stern  fire,  and  this  necessity  has  not  been  suf- 
ficiently insisted  upon.  The  English  and  the  French 
frigates  were  in  the  habit  of  placing,  in  pursuit  of  a  su- 
perior adversary,  five  or  six  guns  of  the  heaviest  cali- 
ber, if  they  could  get  near  enough  to  him,  which  is  a 
proof  that  even  then  the  independent  placement  of 
artillery  was  resorted  to  in  stringent  cases.  As  for  the 
point  made  by  the  previous  speaker  relative  to  the 
most  important  phases  of  development  in  English  and 
French  ship  -  construction,  I  entirely  agree  with  the 
statements  of  the  other  speakers  about  that.  But  I 
should  like  to  point  out  why  German  ship-construction 
can  fairly  claim  a  system  of  its  own,  and  that  consists 
in  the  fact  that  we  have  from  the  start  insisted  that 
the  influence  of  the  marine  officers,  of  the  vessel's  com- 
mander, should  be,  as  far  as  at  all  expedient,  the  dom- 

195 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

inating  one  with  the  designer  and  constructor  of  the 
ship. 

"  The  consequence  has  been  that  our  naval  ship  type 
has  developed  solely  under  the  influence  of  military  re- 
quirements in  striking  contrast  to  formerly,  when  the 
constructor  merely  built  a  vessel  and  the  navy  mere- 
ly operated  it.  That  principle  is  antiquated.  But,  of 
course,  the  ship-constructor  has  to  make  a  successful 
compromise  between  the  artillery  fire  and  the  engine 
requirements  on  the  one  hand  and  the  requirements  of 
actual  engagement  conditions  on  the  other.  I  believe 
that  the  type  of  battle-ship  we  have  at  present  is  ca- 
pable and  certain  of  further  development,  until  it  will 
furnish  us  with  a  fighting  machine  such  as  we  must 
demand  from  the  military  view-point.  And  I  also  be- 
lieve that  the  co-operation  of  our  naval  engineers  and 
architects  with  our  proved  and  tried  ship-yards  will  re- 
sult in  tangible  progress.  ..." 

As  to  the  relations  existing  between  the  Kaiser  and 
his  navy,  it  is  particularly  characteristic  that  they  are 
not  nearly  so  formal  and  stiff  as  those  with  the  army. 
He  cultivates  a  spirit  of  hearty  comradeship  with  both 
officers  and  men.  He  has  given  his  photograph,  often 
with  his  signature,  to  hundreds  of  the  officers  and  men, 
and  he  has  made  little  gifts  of  money  or  cigars  to  de- 
serving old  tars  on  innumerable  occasions,  has  often 
chatted  by  the  hour  with  a  plain  deck-hand,  and  in- 
quired, with  genuine  interest,  into  their  private  and 
family  affairs.  When  on  board  his  own  yacht,  the 
Hohenzollern,  or  some  other  vessel,  he  exposes  himself 
to  every  sort  of  weather,  and  is  forever  "roughing  it" 
in  true  sailor  fashion.  It  is  credibly  asserted  that  he 
knows  by  name  and  otherwise  every  one  of  his  officers 
in  the  navy,  and  holds  towards  them  and  their  men 
an  attitude  which  is,  for  a  monarch,  a  novel  and  very 

196 


THE   KAISER   AND  THE   GERMAN    NAVY 

judicious  mixture  composed  of  about  equal  parts  of  the 
admiral,  the  sovereign,  and  the  father.  He  makes  his 
navy  work  hard,  very  hard ;  that  is  true.  But  he  shows 
himself  that  he  is  fond  of  hard  work  and  unmindful 
of  exposure.  In  many  ways  he  rewards  efficiency 
and  ardent  fulfilment  of  duty — by  prizes,  preferment, 
bounties,  honorable  mention,  verbal  praise — and  never 
shows  anything  but  the  keenest,  most  sincere  interest 
in  the  welfare  and  the  doings  of  his  navy.  The  result 
of  all  this  is  inevitable.  The  navy  loves  and  vener- 
ates the  Kaiser  with  a  feeling  similar  in  depth  and 
quality  to  that  which  filled  the  soldiers  of  the  first 
Napoleon  towards  Le  Petit  Caporal. 

It  is  well  to  know  these  facts.  They  not  only  help 
to  a  better  and  fairer  understanding  of  the  strangely 
complex  nature  of  the  Kaiser,  but  they  also  explain 
the  hopes  which  that  ruler  is  building  in  large  part  upon 
his  navy.  The  scope  and  essence  of  these  hopes  and 
dreams — to  develop  Germany  into  a  great  maritime 
power— he  has,  as  we  have  seen,  himself  unfolded  on 
several  occasions. 


XII 

LAUNCHINGS  OF  VESSELS 

Stirring  and  patriotic  speeches  made  by  the  Kaiser  on  these 
occasions — Pointing  to  the  future  when  Germany  is  to  be  a 
great  maritime  power — His  parallels  drawn  from  history, 
Teutonic  mythology,  and  folk-lore — "We  bitterly  need  a 
powerful  German  navy" — Strong  public  censure  for  his 
opponents  in  the  Reichstag — Pointed  references  to  Ameri- 
can advance — Emphasizing  the  idea  of  a  world  power. 

Scarcely  one  of  the  newer  ships  of  the  German  navy 
has  been  launched  since  the  Kaiser's  accession  which  he 
has  not  welcomed  to  its  watery  element  with  a  speech 
more  or  less  graphic  and  telling.  And  in  this,  as  in 
other  things  at  which  the  careless  world  has  often 
scoffed  as  merely  theatrical,  there  has  been  method. 
He  has  adroitly  used  these  occasions  to  further  his  pet 
project — developing  the  German  navy  into  a  powerful 
rival  to  England,  France,  and  Russia,  and  quickening 
the  public  opinion  of  the  empire  until  it  should  beat  in 
accordance  with  his  own  convictions.  A  natural-born 
orator,  with  an  orator's  love  of  sounding  phrase  and 
scintillating  metaphor,  his  many  addresses  on  the  oc- 
casion of  wedding  the  powerful  hulks  with  the  sea  have 
yet  served  mainly  the  serious  and  practical  purpose 
aforesaid. 

Nearly  always  these  speeches  have  been  instinct  with 
life  and  fire,  been  dashing  and  enthusiastic,  palpitating 
with  patriotism.  For  parallels  in  the  lessons  he  sought 
to  convey  he  went  as  a  rule  to  history,  especially  the 

198 


LAUNCHINGS   OF  VESSELS 

nautical  history  of  the  great  maritime  powers  of  the 
past  and  present,  and  his  similes  and  figures  of  speech 
he  chose  from  German  folk  -  lore  and  old  Teuton  my- 
thology. 

The  first  of  these  speeches  he  made  on  June  30,  1891, 
when  he  baptized  at  Wilhelmshaven  the  fine  battle-ship 
Kurfiirst  Friedrich  Wilhelm.  This  vessel  was  to  take 
the  place  of  the  iron-clad  Grosser  Kurfiirst,  which  had 
collided,  near  Folkstone,  on  May  31,  1878,  and  gone 
down  with  her  crew  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
officers  and  men.     He  said : 

"  The  great  sire  of  our  house,  three  centuries  ago, 
knew  how  to  lift  the  electorate  of  Brandenburg  from 
its  insignificant  position  and  to  raise  an  army  feared 
by  his  enemies,  courted  by  his  friends.  We  mind  the 
man  of  Warsaw,  Fehrbellin,  and  Stettin.  True,  the 
Great  Elector1  awakens  sad  memories  in  my  navy. 
But  the  name,  too,  is  a  mighty  incentive.  And  I  trust 
that  the  old  motto :  Hie  gut  Brandenburg  allewege !  will 
be  illustrated  by  this  ship.  And  thus,  in  memory  of  this 
great  man,  I  baptize  it  Kurfiirst  Friedrich  Wilhelm." 

The  battle-ship  Brandenburg  was  launched  on  Sep- 
tember 2  2d  of  the  same  year  from  the  Vulcan  yards 
in  Stettin,  and  the  Kaiser  greeted  the  fine  vessel  as 
follows : 

"...  Bear  thou,  O  noble  ship,  a  name  which  in  the 
history  of  our  country  is  a  corner  and  foundation  stone, 
the  name  of  a  land  which  forms  the  very  centre  of 
our  monarchy,  inhabited  by  a  people  who — poor,  faith- 
ful, brave,  and  steadfast  —  is  bound  to  the  race  of 
Hohenzollern  with  hooks  of  steel.     One  with  the  Ho- 

'  English  for  Grosser  Kurfiirst. — Ed. 
199 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

henzollerns,  it  has,  like  them,  made  itself  famed  and 
feared.  ..." 

Less  than  two  months  later,  on  December  14,  1891, 
another  battle-ship  of  the  same  type,  the  Weissenburg, 
received  its  name  from  the  Kaiser,  and  at  the  same 
yard.     He  said : 

"...  The  name  shall  recall  the  man  who  witnessed 
the  baptism  of  the  first-born  of  this  yard.1  It  is  also 
to  recall  that  heroic  time  when  our  country  rose  united 
and  won  its  consolidation  on  the  battle-field.  And  the 
name  is  to  recall  the  deeds  which  my  father,  whose 
memory  will  shine  brilliantly  into  futurity,  achieved  at 
the  head  of  the  united  German  hosts.  Thou  shalt  bear 
the  name  of  a  day  which  was  epoch-making  for  our 
history,  for  it  was  the  corner-stone  for  the  structure 
that  subsequently  culminated  in  the  imperial  crown. 
It  shall  recall  the  name  of  that  battle  at  which,  for  the 
first  time,  the  united  German  armies  were  led  by  Crown- 
prince  Frederick  William,  winning  victory  over  a  chiv- 
alrous foe,  and  by  winning  this  victory  gave  opportu- 
nity to  the  German  arms  for  further  victories.  ..." 

The  iron-clad  Heimdall  was  launched  at  Kiel,  from 
the  imperial  yards,  on  June  27,  1892,  and  the  Kaiser 
remarked : 

"...  The  name  to  be  chosen  for  thee  is  taken  from  the 
earliest  sagas  of  our  forefathers  in  the  North.  Thou 
shalt  bear  the  name  of  that  god  whose  chief  province 
it  was  to  safeguard  the  golden  gates  of  Valhalla  from 
every  wicked  intruder.  As  he,  sounding  his  golden  horn 
as  a  token  to  the  gods  of  approaching  danger,  called 

1  His  father,  then  the  Crown-prince  Frederick  William. — Ed. 

200 


LAUNCHINGS  OF  VESSELS 

upon  them  to  fight  for  the  halls  of  the  immortals, 
and  by  his  blasts  brought  disorder  and  woe  into 
the  hostile  ranks,  so  in  like  manner  be  it  with 
thee! 

"  Glide  thou  into  thy  element  now !  Be  ever  a  faith- 
ful warden  of  the  seas,  ever  a  faithful  defender  of  our 
nation's  honor,  the  honor  of  our  flag.  And  when  the 
time  arrives,  bring  thou  also  destruction  and  despair 
into  thy  foe's  lines. 

"  Bear  thou  in  honor  the  name  of  Heimdall  /" 

A  sister-ship  to  the  above,  the  Aegir,  was  launched 
on  March  3,  1895,  at  Kiel,  and  the  Kaiser  spoke  in  a 
similar  strain,  saying: 

"...  Sprung  from  the  ancient  Germanic  sagas  are 
the  names  of  these  ships,  belonging  to  the  same  class  in 
our  navy.  Hence,  thou,  too,  shalt  remind  us  of  the 
dawn  of  our  race,  of  that  dread  divinity  which  was  ven- 
erated by  all  our  seafaring  Teuton  forebears,  and  whose 
powerful  dominion  stretched  from  the  icy  north  pole 
to  the  distant  south  pole,  in  whose  realm  the  Northern 
battles  were  fought,  and  death  and  terror  carried  into 
the  land  of  the  enemy.  The  name  of  this  awful  god 
thou  shalt  bear.  Be  worthy  of  it.  Thus  I  call  thee 
Aegir!" 

In  place  of  the  worn-out  iron-clad  Preussen,  launched 
by  the  Kaiser's  father  and  mother,  another  and  larger 
battle-ship  had  been  built.  Its  baptismal  rites  were 
performed  at  Wilhelmshaven  on  July  1,  1896,  and  the 
Kaiser  spoke  at  some  length  on  that  occasion,  giving 
it  the  name  of  his  father,  Kaiser  Friedrich  III.  He 
paid  a  warm  tribute  to  his  father  on  that  occasion,  and 
called  upon  the  nation  to  bear  in  mind  always  his 
high  virtues  as  a  ruler  and  a  man.     In  speaking  of  his 

201 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

leadership  during  the  war  against  France,  the  Kaiser 
made  use  of  the  phrase : 

"  My  father  won  our  House  of  Hohenzollern  the  im- 
perial crown  forever  and  aye." 

During  the  banquet  a  few  hours  later,  in  answer  to 
an  address  by  the  Naval  Secretary,  Admiral  Hollmann, 
the  Kaiser  proposed  a  toast,  during  which  he  said : 

"...  Our  navy,  then  still  in  process  of  formation, 
was  not  able  to  take  as  important  a  part  during  the 
late  war  as  we  should  have  wished,  was  not  able  to 
sacrifice  life,  blood,  and  treasure  for  the  good  of  the 
fatherland.  ..." 

To  replace  the  antiquated  Konig  Wilhelm,  the  big 
13,500-ton  battle- ship  Kaiser  Wilhelm  der  Grosse  had 
been  built  at  Kiel,  and  the  Kaiser,  on  June  1,  1899, 
spoke  appropriately,  while  the  act  of  baptism  itself  was 
performed  by  his  aunt,  the  Grand-duchess  Louise  of 
Baden. 

Another  formidable  battle-ship,  the  Kaiser  Karl  der 
Grossed  glided  into  the  Elbe  River,  at  Hamburg,  on 
October  18,  1899,  and  after  the  ceremony  the  city  of 
Hamburg  gave  the  Kaiser  a  splendid  banquet  in  the 
municipal  building,  the  monarch  delivering  a  speech 
mainly  on  the  naval  needs  of  the  empire,  making  use 
of  the  following  language : 

"...  We  need  this  new  ship.  We  bitterly  need  a 
powerful  German  navy.  .  .  .  Right  here,  in  the  centre  of 
this  mighty  emporium  of  commerce,  one  feels  the  elas- 
ticity and  the  fulness  which  the  German  people  can  by 

1  Emperor  Charlemagne. — Ed. 
202 


LAUNCHINGS  OF   VESSELS 

their  consolidation  lend  to  this  city's  far-reaching  en- 
terprises. And  it  is  here,  too,  that  they  know  and  feel 
best  how  absolutely  necessary  to  our  foreign  interests 
is  a  powerful  protection  and  the  mighty  strengthening 
of  our  sea-power.  Yet  slowly — oh,  how  slowly — this 
conviction  spreads  in  the  interior  of  the  fatherland, 
while  so  much  of  its  strength  is  wasted  in  vain  partisan 
squabbles.  With  deep  anxiety  have  I  observed  how 
slowly  interest  in  and  political  understanding  of  this 
truth  have  progressed  in  Germany.  Look  around  you ! 
Within  a  few,  a  very  few,  years,  how  much  has  the  world 
changed  its  face  ?  Old  empires  sink  to  their  doom  and 
new  ones  are  in  the  ascendant.  Nations  suddenly 
appear  within  the  visual  horizon  and  enter  into  ener- 
getic competition,  which  a  brief  while  ago  had  scarcely 
been  noticed  by  the  eye  of  the  careless  throng.  Events 
which  wrought  a  revolution  in  international  relations 
and  upon  the  field  of  social  economy  came  to  pass  with- 
in a  couple  of  months,  while  formerly  they  would  have 
required  centuries  to  ripen.  It  is  owing  to  all  this  that 
the  tasks  for  empire  and  people  have  grown  immense- 
ly, and  demand  of  me  and  my  government  unusual 
and  hard  effort  —  effort,  too,  which  can  be  crowned 
by  success  only  in  case  the  German  people  stand  be- 
hind me,  united  and  steadfast,  abandoning  their  party 
strife.  And  our  people  must  make  sacrifices.  Above 
all  must  they  leave  off  the  mania  to  look  to  party  as 
the  highest  good,  party  in  ever-increasing  bitterness  of 
spirit.  Our  people  must  cease  putting  party  above  the 
common  weal.  Our  people  must  learn  to  control  their 
old  hereditary  vices;  above  all,  to  cease  fruitless  criti- 
cism, and  to  halt  before  those  limits  which  our  most 
vital  interests  draw.  For  it  is  precisely  these  old  polit- 
ical sins  which  at  present  tell  fatally  against  our  mari- 
time interests  and  our  navy.  Had  they  not  persistent- 
ly refused  me,  during  the  first  eight  years  of  my  reign, 

203 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

and  despite  my  incessant  prayers  and  warnings  to  en- 
large it — and  neither  scorn  nor  scoffings  was  I  spared 
during  those  years — how  much  more  rapidly,  and  by 
what  other  and  more  potent  means  could  we  now  pro- 
mote our  flourishing  commerce  and  our  transmarine 
interests ! 

"  But  my  hopes  to  see  the  German  make  a  manful  ef- 
fort are  not  gone.  For  in  his  bosom  glows  and  beats 
mightily  the  love  for  the  fatherland.  ..." 

On  April  21,  1900,  the  Naval  Secretary,  Admiral  von 
Tirpitz,  wired  the  Kaiser  news  of  the  launching  of  an- 
other big  ship  of  the  line,  the  Barbarossa.  The  Kaiser 
sent,  in  reply,  a  telegram  worded  very  patriotically. 

Another  large  battle-ship,  the  Wtttelsbach,  was  bap- 
tized on  July  4,  1900,  in  Wilhelmshaven,  by  a  member 
of  the  royal  Wittelsbach  dynasty,  Prince  Rupprecht  of 
Bavaria,  who  had  been  invited  for  the  purpose.  The 
Kaiser  also  witnessed  the  ceremony  and  conferred  a 
naval  rank  on  the  prince.  The  latter  toasted  the  Kai- 
ser, who  then  replied : 

"...  Your  Royal  Highness  has  had  occasion,  recently, 
to  attend  gatherings  at  which  decisions  were  arrived  at 
that  will  influence  the  destinies  of  the  nation.  Your 
Royal  Highness  must  have  observed  how  powerfully 
the  waves  of  the  ocean  beat  at  the  gates  of  our  people 
and  compel  us  to  maintain  our  place  in  the  world  as  a 
great  power — in  a  word,  we  must  pursue  a  world  policy. 
The  sea  and  sea-power  are  indispensable  for  Germany's 
greatness.  But  it  is  the  sea,  too,  which  proves  that 
neither  upon  the  water  nor  upon  the  land,  in  far-away 
countries,  decisions  must  be  reached  or  events  happen 
without  the  consent  of  Germany  and  the  German  Em- 
peror. I  am  not  of  opinion  that  our  German  people, 
thirty  years  ago,  fought  and  bled  under  the  leadership 

204 


LAUNCHINGS  OF  VESSELS 

of  our  princes  and  monarchs  in  order  to  be  pushed 
aside  when  important  decisions  are  to  be  made  in  for- 
eign parts.  If  we  were  to  permit  that,  our  role  as  a 
world  power  would  be  over  and  done  with  forever,  and 
I  do  not  intend  that  it  shall  come  to  that.  To  find 
for  this  purpose  the  adequate  means,  and,  if  need  be, 
the  most  trenchant  as  well,  is  my  duty  as  well  as  my 
most  cherished  prerogative.  I  feel  sure  that  in  this  I 
have  Germany's  princes  and  our  entire  people  behind 
me  in  solid  phalanx.  ..." 


XIII 

THE  KAISER  AND  HIGHER  EDUCATION 

His  own  experience  in  a  German  public  school — A  letter  by 
him  in  which  he  drastically  points  out  shortcomings  of  the 
prevailing  system — School  reforms  planned  by  him  at  his 
accession — The  cadet  academies  the  first  to  be  modelled 
by  him — The  great  "School  Reform  Quest"  in  1890 — Re- 
markable address  delivered  by  him  on  that  occasion — 
Radical  changes  advocated — Healthful  sport  recommended 
— Teachers  must  infuse  patriotism  in  their  pupils'  minds — 
How  he  thought  socialism  could  be  extirpated — Wants  the 
youth  of  his  country  to  be  taught  how  to  become  patriotic 
Germans,  not  Romans  or  Greeks — Insisting  on  the  high 
value  of  technical  training — Summing  up  his  reform  ideas. 

At  the  command  of  his  parents  the  Kaiser,  then  a 
boy  of  fifteen,  was  sent  to  Cassel,  there  to  attend,  from 
1874  to  1877,  the  local  "gymnasium,"  known  as  the 
Lyceum  Fridericianum,  a  higher  public  school  enjoy- 
ing an  excellent  reputation.  Its  principal,  Professor 
Dr.  Vogt,  was  a  noted  pedagogue.  The  latter  wrote  to 
Prince  William's  parents  a  letter  in  answer  to  the  in- 
quiry whether  their  son  would  be  welcome  in  his  school, 
in  which  he  stated  quite  frankly  that  that  would  be  the 
case  only  if  the  young  prince  would  pledge  himself  to 
comply  with  all  the  rules  of  the  institution  precisely  in 
the  same  manner  as  every  other  pupil  did. 

This  candid  letter  was  exactly  what  the  boy's  father 
and  mother  had  looked  for,  and  soon  after  Prince  Will- 
iam came  to  Cassel,  making  his  summer  quarters  the 
beautiful  chateau   of  Wilhelmshohe  (where  Napoleon 

206 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIGHER   EDUCATION 

III.  was  held  a  captive  after  Sedan),  and  a  smaller  pal- 
ace in  the  immediate  .vicinity  of  the  school  edifice  his 
residence  during  winter.  There  is  an  abundance  of 
authentic  material  on  hand  showing  how  the  heir  to  the 
imperial  throne  of  Germany  conducted  himself  during 
this  interesting  period  of  his  life. 

In  an  official  report,  some  time  after  Prince  William's 
entry,  by  Ludwig  Wiese,  a  Prussian  school-inspector  to 
whose  district  belonged  Cassel,  mention  is  made  of  him 
as  follows: 

' '  Prince  William  rode  every  morning  on  horseback  from 
Wilhelmshohe  to  school,  arriving  punctually  in  town  so  as  to 
be  in  his  class-room  before  7  a.m.  The  class  to  which  he 
belonged  was  attended  by  twenty-one  pupils.  In  his  appear- 
ance and  in  his  demeanor  I  could  discover  no  difference  with 
his  fellow-pupils.  He  was  modest  and  unassuming  in  his  ways. 
I  noticed  in  him  a  predilection  for  Horace.  He  had  of  his  own 
volition  translated  several  Horatian  odes  and  learned  them  by- 
heart,  and  sometimes,  as  the  principal  told  me,  he  had  brought 
ancient  coins  or  illustrations  of  antique  objects  into  the  class- 
room, when  he  believed  they  explained  certain  passages.  He 
took  the  greatest  amount  of  interest  in  history.  In  examining 
him  he  did  not  miss  an  answer.  ..." 

This  same  authority  states,  in  another  official  report, 
that,  in  accordance  with  the  expressly  worded  desire  of 
his  parents,  absolutely  no  difference  was  made  at  school 
between  the  prince  and  the  other  pupils,  that  he  con- 
ducted himself  with  credit,  and  that  he  passed,  in  1877, 
his  "maturity"  examination  with  honors. 

The  principal's  report  said  that  Prince  William  was 
uniformly  bright  and  happy  in  his  disposition,  and 
showed  the  spirit  of  good-comradeship,  but  never  os- 
tentatiously. However,  with  all  that,  he  clearly  was 
of  a  somewhat  sedate  and  precociously  dignified  bear- 
ing, never  in  his  intercourse  with  other  youths  for- 
getting his  position.     The  demands  made  upon  his  dili- 

207 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

gence  and  mental  capacity  were  greater  than  with  the 
rest.  Besides  the  regular  tasks  for  the  school,  both  in 
the  class-room  and  at  home,  he  pursued  military  scien- 
tific studies,  and  took  regular  practice  in  various  forms 
of  physical  exercise — above  all,  in  horsemanship,  row- 
ing, swimming,  fencing,  and  gymnastics.  The  theatre 
was  visited  by  him  but  rarely,  as  a  rule  only  on  the 
anniversary  days  of  the  birth  of  members  of  the  royal 
Prussian  family.  He  was  an  excellent  swimmer,  and 
during  the  summer  he  seldom  missed  a  day  swimming 
in  the  Fulda  River,  making  use  for  that  purpose  of  the 
conveniences  afforded  by  the  military  natatorium  near 
the  city. 

After  successfully  passing  the  final  examination, 
Prince  William  gave,  on  the  eve  of  his  eighteenth 
birthday,  January  26,  1877,  a  farewell  dinner,  to  which 
all  his  late  teachers  and  fellow-pupils  and  some  other 
guests  had  been  invited  by  him.  He  made  a  neat  little 
speech,  thanking  everybody,  and  then  distributed,  at 
the  instance  of  his  grandfather,  the  reigning  Kaiser, 
some  orders  and  decorations.  His  classmates  were 
given  his  photograph  with  autograph  signature. 

During  the  whole  time  he  spent  at  Cassel  and  in 
school,  it  was  remarked  that  he  had  a  special  and  nat- 
ural gift  of  bearing  himself  with  dignity  in  his  inter- 
course with  everybody. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  Prince  William's  real  opin- 
ions regarding  the  methods  of  teaching  observed  in  this 
public  school  at  Cassel.  In  a  letter  written  by  him 
on  April  2,  1885,  eight  years  after  leaving  college,  to 
a  German  lawyer  who  had  sent  him  two  pamphlets  on 
the  shortcomings  of  the  prevailing  methods  of  German 
tuition,  Prince  William,  then  a  young  man  of  twenty - 
six,  says: 

"  Most  cordial  thanks  for  the  two  publications  you 

208 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIGHER   EDUCATION 

sent  me.  I  have  read  Woran  wir  leiden1  with  great 
interest  and  greater  pleasure.  At  last  one  who  ener- 
getically attacks  this  ossified  and  spirit-killing  system 
of  ours!  What  you  say  therein  I  subscribe  to  word 
for  word.  I  have,  as  you  know,  had  occasion  to  con- 
vince myself,  for  two  years  and  a  half,  in  how  many 
ways  our  youth  is  being  sinned  against.  How  many 
of  those  things  which  you  there  cite  I  have  ruminated 
over  by  myself !    Just  to  mention  a  few  of  those  things : 

"Of  twenty -one  primaner2  which  constituted  our 
class,  no  fewer  than  nineteen  had  to  wear  glasses.  Three 
of  them  had  to  put  an  additional  glass  in  front  of  their 
spectacles  when  they  wanted  to  see  as  far  as  the  black- 
board ! 

"  Homer,  that  magnificent  man,  for  whom  I  have  a 
great  admiration;  Horace;  Demosthenes,  whose  ora- 
tions are  bound  to  enthuse  any  one — how  were  they 
read?  With  enthusiasm,  perhaps,  for  the  battles  paint- 
ed or  for  the  splendid  weapons  described  or  for  the 
strong  passages  of  nature  description?  Not  at  all. 
Under  the  scalpel  of  the  grammarian,  the  fanatical  phi- 
lologist, every  brief  sentence  was  divided,  quartered, 
until  the  skeleton  had  been  found  with  joy  and  had 
been  triumphantly  exhibited  to  the  admiration  of  all, 
in  order  to  demonstrate  in  how  many  ways  av  or  eVt 
or  any  other  trivial  thing  may  be  prefixed  or  affixed ! 
It  was  enough  to  shed  tears ! 

"The  Latin  and  Greek  treatises— a  howling  farce! — 
what  trouble  and  labor  they  cost !  And  what  pitiable 
results  were  obtained!  I  believe  Horace  would  have 
given  up  the  ghost  with  fright. 

"  Away  with  this  rot !  War  to  the  knife  against  such 
tuition !  This  system  brings  it  about  that  our  youth 
know  the  syntax,  the  grammar  of  these  ancient  Ian- 


'What    We    Suffer 
Ed. 

From. 

—  1      3  Pupils    of  the  highest   class 
1  in  a  German  gymnasium. — Ed. 

14 

209 

THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

guages  better  than  the  old  Greeks  themselves  knew  it ; 
that  they  know  by  heart  every  one  of  these  old  gen- 
erals, battles,  and  orders  of  battles  in  the  Punic  and 
Mithridatic  wars,  but  are  left  completely  in  the  dark 
about  the  battles  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  let  alone 
those  of  the  'much-too-modern'  wars  of  '66  or  '70, 
which,  of  course,  'they  haven't  had  yet.' 

"As  for  the  body,  now,  I  am  also  of  the  well-defined 
opinion  that  the  afternoon  hours  ought  to  be  free  for 
once  and  all.  The  lessons  in  gymnastics  ought  to  be  a 
pleasure  for  the  boys.  Races  over  hurdled  tracks  and 
very  natural  arrangements  for  climbing  would  be  of 
value.  It  would  be  a  good  idea  if  in  all  towns  having 
military  garrisons  the  entire  male  youth  of  riper  years 
were  made  to  drill  with  canes  twice  or  thrice  every 
week  under  the  direction  of  a  sergeant.  And  to  take 
the  place  of  the  present  stupid  class  excursions — with 
elegant  walking-canes,  in  black  coats,  and  a  cigar  in  the 
mouth— brisk  tramps  across  fields,  roughing  it,  even  if 
it  should  terminate  now  and  then  in  athletic  games  or 
in  a  free-for-all,  hand-to-hand  fight  among  the  boys. 

"  Our  primaner  are — and  we  ourselves  were  not  any 
better — nowadays  much  too  affected  to  pull  off  their 
coats  and  have  a  lively  scramble  or  set-to.  What  else 
can  be  expected  of  them  under  present  conditions. 
Therefore,  I  say,  guerre  a  outrance  on  this  system.  And 
I  am  more  than  ready  to  co-operate  with  you  in  your 
efforts.  I  rejoice  to  have  found  one  who  speaks  out 
plainly  and  who  seizes  upon  things  with  a  firm  hand. 
"Your  William,  Prince  of  Prussia." 

It  will  readily  be  understood  that  the  young  Kaiser, 
when  he  came  to  reign,  embraced  the  reform  of  higher 
education  in  German  schools  in  his  programme. 

The  first  of  these  attempts  at  reform  was  aimed  at 
the  government  cadet  schools  and  military  academies. 

210 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIGHER  EDUCATION 

His  own  high  opinion  of  the  educational  worth  of  these 
military  institutions  may  safely  be  gathered  from  the 
fact  that  he  placed  his  sons  not  in  a  "  gymnasium,"  but 
in  the  cadet  school  in  Plon.  On  February  13,  1890,  he 
issued  a  decree  looking  to  a  very  radical  and  compre- 
hensive reorganization  both  in  the  methods  of  tuition 
and  in  the  choice  of  subjects  taught.  This  document 
said  that  the  chief  aim  of  education  in  these  military 
institutions  must  be  the  harmonious  co-operation  of 
physical,  mental,  and  religious  discipline  and  devel- 
opment, thus  forming  character.  He  elaborated  this 
postulate,  and  pointed  out  mistaken  methods  pursued 
in  these  schools.  Then  he  went  on  insisting  that  in  re- 
ligious tuition  emphasis  must  be  laid  more  on  ethical 
and  less  on  dogmatic  features.  The  officers  graduating 
from  these  institutions  were  intended,  he  said,  to  be- 
come themselves  educators  in  "  the  great  school  of  the 
nation,  the  army,"  and  hence  the  paramount  impor- 
tance of  making  them  self-contained,  harmoniously  de- 
veloped men,  able  to  teach  as  much  by  personal  exam- 
ple as  by  word  of  mouth.  "  Devotion  to  monarch  and 
country,"  he  said,  "depends,  like  the  fulfilment  of  all 
other  duties,  on  divine  command."  Hence,  too,  he  wish- 
ed German  history,  especially  the  more  modern  parts  of 
it,  taught  more  extensively  and  in  detail,  and  in  such 
manner  as  to  awaken  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil  the  sense 
of  heroism  and  historic  grandeur,  and  to  give  him  due 
appreciation  of  and  comprehension  for  the  "roots  and 
the  development  of  our  culture."  The  German  —  its 
literature,  its  ready  and  correct  use,  both  in  writing  and 
orally — the  Kaiser  wants  made  the  centre  of  all  tui- 
tion, and  this  must  also  comprise  a  knowledge  of  the 
folk-lore,  the  mythology,  and  the  legends  of  the  Ger- 
manic race.  As  to  modern  foreign  languages,  special 
attention  must  be  paid  from  the  start  to  enable  prac- 
tical use  of  them,  in  speaking  and  writing. 

211 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

On  these  general  lines  the  military  schools  of  Ger- 
many have  since  been  gradually  remodelled. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  same  year  the  Kaiser  ap- 
proached the  much  more  difficult  and  delicate,  as  well 
as  far  more  important,  task  of  reorganizing  the  higher 
public  schools  for  the  education  of  the  civilian  popula- 
tion— i.e.,  the  "gymnasia,"  the  "upper  real  schools," 
and  the ' '  real  gymnasia. ' '  The  then  Prussian  Minister  of 
Education,  Von  Gossler,  an  exceptionally  able  man,  had 
been  won  by  the  Kaiser  for  his  plans,  and,  a  number  of 
preparatory  steps  having  been  taken,  the  great  "  school 
conference"  met  on  December  4,  1890,  in  Berlin.  It 
was  composed  of  forty-five  experts,  nearly  all  practical 
or  theoretical  pedagogues.  The  Kaiser  welcomed  these 
men  in  a  set  speech,  and  soon  after  the  first  preliminary 
session  had  been  opened  he  addressed  them  at  length. 
His  speech  on  that  occasion  was  one  of  the  longest  and 
weightiest  he  ever  made.  It  was  nothing  less  than  a 
complete  exposure  of  his  educational  programme  for  the 
empire.  The  most  remarkable  passages  in  it  were  as 
follows : 

"...  First  of  all,  I  wish  to  point  out  that  this  is  not 
a  political  school  question,  but  merely  an  effort  to  agree 
on  technical  and  pedagogical  measures  needed  to  de- 
velop our  growing  youth  of  to-day  in  a  way  to  enable 
them  to  grapple  successfully  with  the  demands  which 
the  altered  position  in  the  world  makes  on  our  country 
and  on  our  life.  .  .  . 

"  The  main  thing  is  that  you  grasp  the  spirit  of  this 
matter,  and  not  the  mere  form.  I  have  myself  scrib- 
bled down  some  of  the  chief  points  to  which  I  wish  to 
direct  your  attention.  I  trust  you  will  give  them  due 
weight. 

"  There  we  have,  for  instance, '  School  Hygiene,  Aside 
from  Gymnastics,'  a  matter  deserving  mature  delib- 

212 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIGHER   EDUCATION 

eration.  Then  we  have  '  Reduction  in  the  Number  of 
Subjects  for  Tuition,'  which  means  consideration  of 
those  things  which  can  be  fitly  eliminated.  Again  we 
have  '  Plans  of  Tuition  for  the  Several  Branches '  and 
'  Teaching  Methods  for  Organization.'  Also  '  Have  the 
Unnecessaries  Been  all  Removed  from  the  Examina- 
tions?' and  'Has  Overwork  and  Overcrowding  Been 
Avoided  for  the  Future?'  .  .  . 

"  If  the  school  had  done  what  one  had  a  right  to 
expect  of  it,  it  would  of  its  own  accord  have  entered 
into  the  fight  against  Social  Democracy.  The  teaching 
bodies  ought  to  have  taken  hold  of  the  matter  and 
ought  to  have  instructed  the  growing  generation  in  such 
a  way  that  those  young  men  who  are  of  about  the  same 
age  as  myself — about  thirty,  therefore — would  of  them- 
selves have  formed  the  material  with  which  I  could 
operate  within  the  state  in  order  to  dominate  and  sup- 
press the  movement.  That  has  not  been  the  case, 
however.  The  last  phase  of  our  development,  where 
the  school  exerted  decisive  influence  upon  our  whole 
national  life,  was  the  time  of  1864,  1866,  until  1870. 
Then  it  was  the  Prussian  schools;  the  Prussian  teach- 
ers were  the  advocates  of  the  idea  of  national  unity, 
an  idea  which  was  preached  everywhere.  Every  young 
student  on  leaving  school  and  entering  the  army,  or 
stepping  out  into  civil  life,  every  one,  all  were  of  one 
mind :  The  German  Empire  must  be  re-established  and 
Alsace-Lorraine  must  be  regained.  With  the  year  187 1 
this  has  ceased.  The  empire  is  reunited.  We  have  at- 
tained what  we  wanted ;  and  then  matters  have  come 
to  a  stand-still. 

"  It  would  have  been  the  task  of  the  school,  starting 
from  the  newly  won  basis,  to  inspire  and  to  enlighten 
our  youth  that  the  new  empire  was  there  to  be  pre- 
served and  maintained.  But  nothing  of  the  kind  has 
been  done.     Even  now,  but  a  short  time  after  the  foun- 

213 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

dation  of  the  empire,  centrifugal  tendencies  are  notice- 
able. I  can  notice  that  because  I  stand  on  high,  and 
all  such  questions  approach  and  confront  me. 

"  The  reason  of  this  is  to  be  looked  for  in  the  educa- 
tion of  our  youth.  What  is  amiss  in  it  ?  Many  things. 
Above  all,  this :  that  since  the  year  1870  the  philologists 
have  sat  in  the  gymnasia  as  beati  possidentes,  and  have 
put  the  emphasis  upon  acquiring  book  knowledge  only, 
neglecting  the  formation  of  character  and  the  require- 
ments of  modern  life.  .  .  .  Not  the  ability  to  do,  but  only 
to  know  things  has  been  fostered  and  taught;  that 
shows  itself,  too,  at  the  examinations.  The  underly- 
ing principle  has  always  been  to  make  the  pupil  know  a 
lot  of  things ;  whether  that  which  he  has  learned  will  be 
useful  to  him  in  after  life  seems  never  to  be  considered. 
When  one  talks  with  one  of  these  teachers,  and  tries  to 
make  it  clear  to  him  that  a  young  man  must  be,  above 
all,  practically  trained  for  life  and  its  tasks,  the  answer 
is  in  nearly  all  cases  that  this  is  not  within  the  proper 
scope  of  the  school.  ...  I  believe  we  cannot  afford  to 
continue  in  this  way. 

"...  Our  school  system  at  present  lacks,  above  all, 
its  national  basis.  We  must  take  German  for  the  foun- 
dation of  our  gymnasia.  We  want  to  educate  our 
pupils  into  young  Germans,  not  young  Greeks  or  Ro- 
mans. We  must  deviate  from  the  basis  which  for  cen- 
turies has  had  its  full  sway — away  from  the  conventual 
education  of  the  Middle  Ages,  where  Latin  was  pre- 
dominant and  a  little  Greek  into  the  bargain.  That 
is  no  longer  appropriate  or  judicious.  German  must 
become  the  basis.  The  German  essay  must  become 
the  central  point  around  which  everything  else  gravi- 
tates. .  .  . 

"  In  like  manner  I  wish  to  see  the  national  spirit 
promoted  in  history,  geography,  and  legendary  lore. 
Let  us  begin  at  home.  .  .  .  Above  all,  we  must  be  thor- 

214 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIGHER   EDUCATION 

oughly  conversant  with  the  history  of  our  own  coun- 
try. When  I  went  to  school,  the  Great  Elector  was  for 
us  a  nebulous  being,  the  Seven  Years'  War  was  left  un- 
considered, and  history  as  a  whole  wound  up  for  us 
with  the  end  of  the  last  century,  with  the  French  Revo- 
lution. The  Wars  of  Liberation,  the  most  important 
subject  for  the  future  citizen  of  the  state,  were  not 
treated  of  at  all,  and  I  was  only  enabled,  by  hearing 
supplementary  lectures  delivered  by  my  dear  Professor 
Hinzpeter,  to  know  something  about  this  important 
period.  And  that  is  precisely  the  punctum  saliens. 
Why  are  our  young  men  brought  to  wrong  views  ?  Why 
do  so  many  confused,  turbid  minds  among  us  turn 
Utopians?  Why  are  they  forever  criticising  our  own 
government,  lauding  conditions  in  foreign  countries? 
Because  our  young  men  do  not  know  how  our  con- 
ditions have  developed  under  the  stress  of  necessity. 
Because  they  do  not  know  that  the  roots  of  them  lie  in 
the  age  of  the  French  Revolution.  And  it  is  because 
of  this  that  I  am  fully  convinced  if  this  transitional 
process  leading  from  the  French  Revolution  into  the 
nineteenth  century  were  but  explained  to  our  youth, 
in  simple,  unpartisan  fashion,  they  would  gain  an  en- 
tirely clearer  apprehension  of  the  questions  of  to-day. 
They  would  then  be  able  to  complement  at  the  uni- 
versity, by  additional  lectures,  their  knowledge  about 
all  these  things. 

"...  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  reduce  the  hours  of 
study1.  .  .  .  Well,  gentlemen,  by  a  perfectly  honest  score 
— Professor  Hinzpeter  will  bear  me  out — each  one  of  us 
had  to  spend  at  home,  in  preparation  for  school  lessons, 
a  daily  matter  of  five  and  one-half,  six  and  one-half, 
even  seven  hours.  That  was  during  the  last  year.  Add 
to  this  six  hours  of  school  tuition  and  two  hours  for 

lHere  the  Kaiser  went  into  |  during  his  school-days  at  Cas- 
details  about  the  hours  of  study  I  sel. — Ed. 

215 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

meals,  and  you  can  see  for  yourselves  how  much  was  left 
us  of  the  day.  .  .  .  These  are  burdens  which  youths  can- 
not for  any  great  length  of  time  endure  with  impunity. 
I  am  of  opinion  that  this  must  and  ought  to  be  changed. 
.  .  .  The  schools,  particularly  the  gymnasia,  have  made 
superhuman  demands.  They  have,  in  my  opinion,  given 
us  an  oversupply  of  culture,  more  than  the  nation  can 
stand,  more  than  they  themselves  can  stand.  Prince 
Bismarck's  saying,  that  about  the '  cultured  proletariat,' 
has  deep  meaning.  All  these  so-called  '  hunger  candi- 
dates,' especially  the  gentlemen  of  the  press,  are  in  most 
cases  decadent  gymnasians — and  that  means  a  danger 
for  us.  ...  I  shall,  therefore,  not  sanction  the  establish- 
ment of  any  new  gymnasium  except  its  tangible  need 
be  first  proven  to  me.  We  have  now  more  than  enough 
of  them. 

"...  This  whole  matter  may  be  easily  solved.  .  .  . 
Let  us  say,  in  future :  Classical  gymnasia,  giving  classic 
culture ;  another  category  of  schools  with  real,  practical 
knowledge,  but  no  'real  gymnasia,'  for  the  latter  are 
neither  one  thing  nor  the  other;  they  teach  a  semi- 
culture,  and  give  but  semi-fitness  for  the  subsequent 
battle  of  life.  ..." 

The  Kaiser  then  went  into  details  of  practical  im- 
portance only  to  German  teachers  and  pupils,  dwelling 
next  on  the  frequency  of  too  large  classes,  and  on  the 
unsatisfactory  character  and  qualifications  of  many 
teachers,  saying  that  Professor  Hinzpeter's  words,  "to 
educate,  it  is  necessary  to  be  educated  one's  self,"  were 
true.    Then  he  went  on : 

"  We  must  get  rid  of  the  idea  that  a  teacher's  duty 
consists  merely  in  giving  so  many  lessons  daily,  and, 
they  being  over,  his  work  is  done.  The  school  which 
now  withdraws  our  youth  from  the  domestic  hearth 

216 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIGHER   EDUCATION 

for  so  large  a  portion  of  each  day  must  also  take  upon 
itself  the  responsibility  for,  and  the  education  of,  this 
same  youth.  Educate  our  youth  and  you  will  have  a 
different  class  of  graduates.  We  must  abandon  the 
maxim  that  knowledge  of  books  is  everything,  and 
the  requirements  of  life  afterwards  nothing ;  our  young 
people  must  be  trained  for  modern,  practical  life." 

Here  the  Kaiser  quoted  official  statistics,  showing 
that  at  that  time  there  were  in  Prussia  alone  about 
five  hundred  and  forty  higher  public  schools,  with 
some  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  pupils,  and 
dwelt  on  the  excessive  number  of  school  -  hours  and 
domestic  preparatory  work.  Then  he  touched  on  the 
physical  ailments  and  disabilities  consequent  upon  this 
mental  and  bodily  overburdening,  saying: 

"Statistics  showing  the  spread  of  these  'school  ail- 
ments,' particularly  myopia,  are  truly  frightful.  .  .  .  Re- 
flect for  a  moment  what  kind  of  material  this  will  make 
for  purposes  of  our  country's  defence.  I  want  soldiers. 
We  need  a  strong,  healthy  generation,  men  who  are  also 
able  and  willing  to  serve  the  fatherland  as  intellectual 
guides  and  as  officials.  The  great  mass  of  these  short- 
sighted young  men  are  practically  useless.  A  man  who 
cannot  use  his  eyes  properly,  of  how  much  avail  is  he? 
In  Prima  the  number  of  short-sighted  pupils  rises  to 
seventy-four  per  cent.  ...  In  this  question  of  school 
hygiene,  I  hold  that  in  the  teachers'  preparatory  insti- 
tutions special  courses  in  this  matter  must  be  made 
obligatory,  and  that  every  teacher,  if  in  fair  health, 
must  take  physical  exercise,  must  become  an  expert  in 
it,  and  must  practise  daily.  ..." 

The  effect  of  this  speech,  so  unconventional  and  to 
the  point,  was  astounding  throughout  Germany.     On 

217 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

December  17th,  the  last  session  of  this  "  School  Quest" 
conference  took  place,  and  the  Kaiser  made  the  closing 
speech.  He  said  in  it  that  if  he  had  been  silent  in  his 
opening  address  on  the  matter  of  religious  instruction, 
he  had  done  so  because  he  thought  that  on  that  point 
his  views  were  perfectly  and  generally  understood.  Of 
course,  he  desired  ardently  "that  religious  sentiment 
and  the  spark  of  Christian  spirit  be  carefully  and  per- 
sistently nursed  in  the  public  schools."  He  thanked 
the  members  of  the  conference  for  their  painstaking 
and  efficient  labors,  and  then  went  on: 

"Gentlemen,  we  live  in  a  period  of  transition  and 
progress  into  a  new  century,  and  it  has  ever  been  the 
prerogative  of  my  house — I  mean,  my  ancestors  have 
always  proven  that  they,  feeling  the  pulse  of  their  time, 
understood  how  to  see  ahead  and  discern  what  was  com- 
ing. Thus  they  have  remained  at  the  head  of  every 
movement,  directing  it  and  guiding  it  to  new  goals.  I 
believe  I  have  been  able  to  divine  the  new  spirit  hur- 
rying us  on  towards  the  end  of  this  century.  I  am  re- 
solved, as  I  have  done  in  approaching  the  social  reforms 
needed,  to  tread  new  paths  in  forming  our  young  gen- 
eration, new  paths  being  absolutely  required.  For  if 
we  do  not  tread  these  new  paths  now,  we  should  be  com- 
pelled to  tread  them  within  twenty  years  hence.  .  .  . 

"  Summing  up  briefly,  I  should  like  to  say  to  you, 
before  concluding,  that  there  is  another  motto  of  my 
house :  Suuni  cuique — that  is,  to  each  his  own ;  and  not, 
to  each  the  same.  So  far  the  road  for  our  youth  has 
led  from  the  Thermopylae  over  Cannae  to  Rossbach  and 
Vionville.  I  want  to  lead  them  hereafter  from  Sedan 
and  Gravelotte  over  Leuthen  and  Rossbach  back  to 
Mantinea  and  to  Thermopylae.  I  believe  this  to  be  the 
right  road,  and  that  is  the  one  we  shall  have  to  take 
with  our  youth.  ..." 

218 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIGHER   EDUCATION 

Shortly  after  the  Kaiser  issued  a  decree  to  his  Min- 
ister of  Education,  directing  him  to  appoint  from  the 
members  of  the  late  conference  a  special  committee 
whose  task  it  should  be  to  visit  a  number  of  the  model 
and  most  progressive  schools  in  Prussia  and  elsewhere, 
to  study  all  the  material  bearing  on  the  matter  in  hand, 
and  then  to  prepare  a  report  embodying  definite  prop- 
ositions for  reform  in  the  higher  public  schools.  He 
dwelt  in  it,  also,  on  the  necessity  of  increasing  the  sal- 
aries paid  teachers  in  these  schools.  The  date  of  in- 
troducing, provisionally  at  first  and  on  a  small  scale, 
the  reform  principles  advocated  by  him,  and  in  the 
main  adopted  by  the  members  of  the  late  conference, 
was  fixed  by  the  Kaiser  as  the  beginning  of  April,  1892. 

The  school  reform  thus  energetically  inaugurated  by 
him,  however,  took  shape  but  very  slowly.  The  influ- 
ence of  the  movement,  indeed,  was  not  perceptible  in 
the  country  at  large  for  years  after.  The  staid  and 
conservative  "philologist  party"  in  Germany,  the  one 
which  the  Kaiser  specially  abhorred,  was  too  strong 
for  him.  But  the  ball  had  been  set  rolling,  and  public 
discussion  between  the  adherents  of  "classicism"  and 
of  "  technicalism,"  as  it  was  called,  drew  ever- widening 
circles.  Some  few  "reform  "  gymnasia  were  established, 
and  the  one  at  Frankfort-on-Main  made  itself  much 
talked  about. 

Meanwhile,  the  recommendation  made  by  the  Kai- 
ser for  the  general  adoption  by  pupils  and  students  of 
manly,  healthful  sport  bore  fruit  much  more  rapidly. 
Rowing  and  swimming  more  particularly  became  reg- 
ular college  sports  in  Germany,  and  expert  oarsman- 
ship came  to  be  admired  and  emulated  by  these  young 
men.  The  Kaiser  fostered  this  development  in  every 
possible  way,  and  on  his  birthday,  on  January  27,  1898, 
he  issued  a  decree  regulating  the  regattas  and  inter- 
collegiate contests,  which  had  meanwhile  become  a  reg- 

219 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

ular  feature  of  student  life  in  Germany,  stripping  them 
of  some  objectionable  features  that  had  recently  crept 
in.  He  and  the  Empress  have  frequently  attended  on 
such  occasions,  and  have  awarded  prizes  to  the  victors, 
often  prizes  of  considerable  intrinsic  value  and  to  be 
held  permanently,  such  as  silver  cups,  wreaths,  etc. 

William  II.  has  shown  from  the  outset  a  strong  liking 
for,  and  appreciation  of,  applied  sciences.  This  fact  is 
one  of  those  best  known  of  him.  To  mark  his  high  es- 
timate and  to  encourage  technical  progress  in  Germany, 
the  Kaiser,  despite  the  systematic  opposition  of  the 
"  classicists  " — still  the  dominant  school  in  Germany, 
and  holding  the  overwhelming  majority  of  government 
and  otherwise  influential  offices  in  the  empire  —  con- 
ferred upon  the  technical  academies  and  high-schools 
in  Prussia  the  privilege  of  conferring  the  degree  of  doc- 
tor, the  title  being  designated  and  abbreviated  as  "  Dr. 
Ing."  This  occasioned  strenuous  protests  on  the  part 
of  many  university  professors  and  others.  To  Profes- 
sor Riedler,  the  rector  of  the  largest  and  best-equipped 
technical  high -school  in  Germany,  the  one  in  Char- 
lottenburg,  near  Berlin,  after  that  functionary  had 
thanked  the  monarch  for  the  new  honor  conferred,  the 
Kaiser  made  an  impromptu  and  interesting  reply.  In 
it  he  said: 

"...  I  wanted  to  put  the  technical  high-schools  in 
the  foreground,  for  their  mission  in  the  near  future  will 
be  an  extremely  important  one.  The  tasks  falling  to 
their  share  are  not  only  technical,  but  also  social  ones. 
The  latter  have  so  far  not  been  solved  in  the  way  I 
should  like.  You  can  exert  a  strong  influence  upor 
social  conditions  because  of  your  many  and  intimate 
relations  to  labor  and  to  the  laboring  classes,  and  be- 
cause of  the  chances  you  have  to  mould  methods  of 
production.     You  are,  therefore,  destined  to  fulfil  great 

220 


THE   KAISER   AND   HIGHER    EDUCATION 

tasks  in  the  times  to  come.  The  methods  now  in  vogue 
have,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  wholly  failed  in  the  social  sense. 
I  count  upon  the  technical  high-schools.  Social  Democ- 
racy I  look  upon  as  ephemeral;  it  will  run  its  course. 
But  you  must  make  plain  to  your  pupils  their  social 
obligations  to  the  working-people,  and  not  neglect  the 
great  general  missions  confronting  us  and  them.  Once 
more,  I  count  upon  you.  There  will  be  neither  lack 
of  work  for  you  nor  of  appreciation.  Our  technical 
achievements  are  widely  recognized.  We  need,  ourselves, 
much  technical  intelligence  in  the  country.  .  .  .  The 
reputation  of  our  German  technical  science  is  even  to- 
day an  enviable  one.  Our  best  families,  after  a  period 
of  aloofness,  are  now  beginning  to  send  their  sons  into 
technical  careers,  and  I  hope  this  will  increase.  In 
other  countries,  too,  your  reputation  is  a  very  high  one, 
and  foreigners  speak  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  of 
the  technical  education  received  here.  It  is  well  that 
foreigners  are  also  admitted  to  our  institutions.  That 
creates  respect  for  our  labors.  In  England,  too,  I 
found  the  greatest  respect  for  our  German  technical 
science.  Only  recently  I  heard  repeatedly  how  highly 
esteemed  German  technical  science  and  achievements 
are  in  England.  ..." 

At  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  technical  high- 
school  in  Charlottenburg,  on  October  19,  1899,  the 
Kaiser  delivered  another  address,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  made  use  of  the  following  language: 

"  .  .  .  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  scientific  efforts  of  the 
technical  high-schools  will  not  interfere  with  the  nec- 
essary and  close  connection  with  practical  life,  and 
that  these  schools  will  continue  to  keep  in  intimate  and 
incessant  touch  with  the  latter,  drawing  thence  all  the 
time  new  strength  and  sustenance.     The  statues  of  the 

221 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

two  men  which  will  henceforth  ornament  the  frontage 
of  this  house l  symbolically  prove  that.  So  long  as  you 
keep  the  memory  of  these  two  men  alive,  and  strive 
after  them,  German  technical  science  will  always  be 
able  to  compete  honorably  in  the  race  with  other  na- 
tions. .  .  . 

"...  Thus  the  new  century  will  find  us  ready  and 
well  prepared  for  the  tasks  which  the  rapidly  grow- 
ing development  of  civilization  everywhere  calls  upon 
technical  science  to  solve.  Astounding  have  been  the 
triumphs  of  technical  science  in  our  days;  but  they 
were  only  possible  because  the  Creator  of  heaven  and 
earth  has  endowed  man  with  the  capacity  and  the  im- 
pulse to  penetrate  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  mys- 
teries of  nature,  to  ascertain  the  laws  and  the  forces 
of  nature,  in  order  to  make  them  serviceable  for  man- 
kind's welfare.  Thus,  like  every  other  true  science, 
technics  also  leads  us  back  to  the  origin  of  all  things,  to 
the  Almighty  Creator,  and,  humbly  thanking  Him,  we 
must  bow  in  the  dust  before  Him.  ..." 

It  was  fully  ten  years  after  the  Kaiser  had  first  start- 
ed out  reforming  the  higher  schools  of  Germany,  on 
November  26, 1900,  that  he  once  more  took  up  the  task. 
In  a  long  and  explicit  decree  of  that  date  he  ordered 
that  the  reform  measures  which  had  begun  to  be  prac- 
tically applied  in  1892  be  continued  and  considerably 
amplified  on  the  same  lines.  He  predicated  the  fol- 
lowing : 

The  three  classes  of  higher  schools  in  Germany — viz., 
the  gymnasium,  the  "  real  gymnasium,"  and  the"  upper 
real  school,"  were  henceforth  to  be  considered,  each  in 
its  own  sphere,  as  of  equal  value. 

To  specialize  each  of  them  more  than  had  hitherto 

'Krupp  and  Siemens. — Ed. 
222 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIGHER   EDUCATION 

been  the  case.  "I  particularly  wish  to  emphasize," 
said  the  Kaiser,  in  this  paragraph  of  his  document, "  that 
in  view  of  the  great  importance  which  a  knowledge  of 
English  has  acquired,  more  attention  be  devoted  to 
that  language  hereafter  in  the  gymnasia." 

While  unmistakable  progress  had  been  made  since 
1892  in  the  methods  of  tuition,  more  had  to  be  done  in 
that  line.  The  principals  had  to  remember  that  mul- 
tum,  non  multa,  was  the  proper  motto  for  them.  Teach- 
ers must  devote  less  attention  to  formalism  and  more 
to  the  spirit  of  what  they  teach. 

In  modern  languages,  the  ability  to  acquire  conver- 
sational command  of  them,  and  a  good  knowledge  of 
the  leading  authors,  were  to  be  more  considered. 

In  a  final  paragraph  the  Kaiser  recommended  that 
the  whole  scheme  of  reform  was  to  proceed  on  the  plan 
practically  tested  for  a  number  of  years  in  several  Prus- 
sian cities,  particularly  Frankfort-on-Main  and  Altona. 
That  had  been  the  establishment  and  operation  of 
schools  conducted  on  the  principles  laid  down  by  the 
"  School  Quest"  commission  in  1890. 


XIV 

RELATIONS  TO  ART  AND  SCIENCE 

The  Kaiser's  early  artistic  talent — One  of  his  paintings  at  a 
Berlin  exposition — His  intercourse  with  Baron  von  Berger 
and  with  many  other  artists — How  he  decorated  the  or- 
chestral leader  Muck — His  address  to  the  members  of  the 
royal  theatres — ' '  Nurse  the  ancient  traditions ' ' — His  con- 
ception of  art  and  its  mission — Donating  the  Schack  collec- 
tion to  the  city  of  Munich — Conferring  the  highest  Prussian 
decoration  on  Menzel — His  sharp  condemnation  of  the  Ger- 
man "  Secession  " — Private  lectures  to  him  by  leading  in- 
ventors— His  speech  at  the  bicentenary  of  the  Prussian 
Academy  of  Sciences — Attending  the  Nuremberg  celebra- 
tion of  the  Germanic  Museum — Bavarian  indignation  at  an 
imperial  telegram. 

In  complete  accord  with  the  Kaiser's  peculiar  char- 
acter, and  with  the  exalted  conception  he  has  of  his 
duties  and  prerogatives  as  a  monarch,  he  has  since  the 
beginning  of  his  reign  not  alone  shown  a  strong  and 
abiding  interest  in  German  art  and  science,  but  has 
also  guided  both,  but  more  especially  art  and  litera- 
ture, in  the  path  they  should  go  to  be  in  consonance 
with  his  own  convictions.  In  fact,  in  this  particular 
he  has  shown,  almost  more  than  in  anything  else,  his 
autocratic  tendencies.  Opinion  as  to  the  resulls  thus 
achieved  by  him,  for  good  or  evil,  is  very  much  divided, 
not  only  in  Germany  proper,  but  the  wide  world  over. 
That  they  have,  however,  been  very  marked  ones  there 
is  no  doubt.  He  has  powerfully  influenced  the  whole 
current  of  German  aspirations  and  achievement  in  art, 

224 


RELATIONS  TO  ART  AND  SCIENCE 

literature,  and  science.  He  has  greatly  circumscribed 
and  narrowed  the  independent  movement  in  German 
art  and  literature  known  as  the  "  Secession."  A  large 
part  of  contemporaneous  German  sculpture  and  paint- 
ing bears  his  impress. 

Unquestionably,  he  inherited  strong  artistic  lean- 
ings, coupled  with  some  talent,  from  his  mother,  the 
Empress  Frederick,  who  shared  her  tastes  and  skill 
in  that  respect  with  all  the  other  daughters  of  Queen 
Victoria.  She  caused  this  nascent  talent  of  the  boy  to 
be  systematically  trained.  A  painter  of  mediocre  gifts, 
Knackfuss,  in  Cassel,  taught  the  Kaiser  what  he  knows 
of  the  use  of  the  brush  and  pencil.  The  Kaiser  has 
kept  on  practising  ever  since,  but  after  attaining  to 
the  throne  he  did  a  great  deal  more  in  the  line  of 
suggestions,  orders,  and  criticism. 

In  1886  an  oil-painting  by  the  then  Prince  William 
was  exhibited  at  the  annual  Berlin  art  exposition,  bear- 
ing its  maker's  full  name  and  title.  It  was  a  land- 
scape, showing  a  snow-capped  mountain  in  the  back- 
ground and  the  sea  and  some  naval  vessels  in  gun- 
practice  in  the  fore.  The  painting,  however,  did  not 
create  much  of  a  sensation  at  the  time,  and  it  was,  to 
tell  the  truth,  slightly  crude  in  execution  and  amateur- 
ish in  conception.  With  the  pencil  the  Kaiser  has  done 
some  better  work,  though  never  anything  which  would 
have  attracted  attention  by  its  intrinsic  merit. 

Architectural  plans  and  drawings  submitted  to  him 
he  has  often  altered,  rapidly  indicating  his  ideas  by 
rough  sketches  on  the  margin.  He  suggested  to  his  old 
teacher,  Knackfuss,  historical  canvases  on  given  top- 
ics, and  sketched  the  symbolical  drawing,  "Nations  of 
Europe, Guard  Your  Most  Cherished  Treasures"  (aimed 
at  China),  and  subsequently  presented  copies  of  it  to 
various  monarchs.  He  designed  models  for  the  or- 
namentation of  various  German  war  -  vessels,  among 

*5  22.5 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

them  the  iron-clad  cruiser  Bismarck.  The  draft  of  the 
gigantic  bronze  archangel  St.  Michael,  the  German 
patron  saint,  now  standing  on  the  battle-field  of  St. 
Privat,  in  Lorraine,  was  made  by  him,  and  used  by  the 
sculptor  Schott.  The  German  battle  painter  Roch- 
ling  received  sketches  and  suggestions  for  his  work 
from  the  Kaiser.  The  same  may  be  said  of  many  other 
painters  and  sculptors,  like  Sir  Hubert  Herkomer,  Vil- 
ma  Parlaghy;  the  American  sculptress  in  Berlin,  Mrs. 
Cadwalader  Guild ;  the  Polish  painter  Von  Kossak,  the 
German  veteran  artist  Menzel,  and  others. 

The  Kaiser's  greatest  love  belongs  to  the  stage.  He 
is  of  opinion  that  it  is  a  monarch's  duty  and  privilege 
to  foster,  superintend,  and  guide  the  stage,  as  it  is  one 
of  the  most  effective  means  of  influencing  the  mind  and 
convictions  of  the  masses  and  to  mould  them  to  his 
own.  In  his  own  language,  it  is  one  of  his  "best  weap- 
ons." It  is  known  how  he  has  sketched  a  number  of 
plays  himself,  and  how  he  has  furnished  material,  ideas, 
or  the  central  plot  of  others  to  a  number  of  German 
writers.  At  first  it  was  Ernst  von  Wildenbruch,  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  most  powerful  German  drama- 
tists, with  whom  he  thus  collaborated  in  several  his- 
torical pieces,  like  "Emperor  Henry  IV.,"  "Die  Quit- 
zows,"  and  others,  but  Wildenbruch  had  too  much 
independence  of  character  and  too  high  an  opinion 
of  his  own  gifts  to  bend  sufficiently  to  his  imperial 
colaborer's  caprices  and  desires,  and  the  partnership, 
after  a  while,  when  it  had  become  irksome  to  both,  was 
dissolved.  Then  the  Kaiser  turned  to  a  retired  army 
officer,  a  former  artillery  captain,  Joseph  Lauff  by 
name,  and  used  him  as  his  mannikin.  With  him  the 
case  stood  otherwise.  Lauff  complied  with  every  im- 
perial whim,  but  his  ability  to  realize  concretely  his 
exalted  partner's  ideas  and  suggestions  did  not  corre- 
spond with  the  degree  of  his  willingness  so  to  do.   None 

226 


RELATIONS   TO   ART  AND   SCIENCE 

of  the  plays  furnished  the  German  stage  by  the  firm  of 
Lauff  &  Hohenzollern  amounts  to  much,  and  none  of 
them  will  live. 

The  Berlin  author  and  theatrical  manager,  L'Ar- 
ronge,  had  the  Kaiser  for  partner  in  the  rearrangement 
and  modernizing  of  "  Regina,"  an  old  opera  by  Lortz- 
ing,  and  Weber's  romantic  opera  "  Oberon  "  was  sim- 
ilarly treated  by  the  Kaiser.  In  both  cases  a  fair 
amount  of  skill  is  shown.  The  Kaiser  has  a  very  ex- 
tensive acquaintance  among  theatrical  folk  of  every 
kind,  and  on  innumerable  occasions,  both  during  the 
preparation  and  performance  of  plays,  has  testified  to 
his  intense  interest  in  this  line.  Everybody  admits  his 
natural,  instinctive  gift  for  stage-setting,  scenery,  for 
bringing  out  theatrical  effects,  and  for  tasteful  and 
novel  costuming.  In  those  lines  his  incentive  has  been 
of  value  to  the  German  stage. 

Baron  von  Berger,  an  Austrian,  with  whom  the  Kai- 
ser had  become  very  well  acquainted  during  his  several 
visits  to  Vienna,  and  who,  as  a  successful  and  original- 
minded  theatrical  manager  had  held  frequent  converse 
with  the  German  monarch  on  stage  matters,  became,  in 
June,  1899,  the  director  of  the  newly  erected  Deutsche 
Schauspielhaus  in  Hamburg,  a  model  institution.  The 
Kaiser  sent  a  sympathetic  message  to  Berger,  ex- 
pressing gratification  at  the  latter's  assumption  of  these 
duties.  Subsequently  Berger  was  summoned  before 
the  Kaiser  in  order  to  explain  all  his  plans,  and,  later 
on,  gave  this  detailed  account  of  his  impressions: 

"...  Whenever  Emperor  William  II.  has  a  conversation 
with  anybody,  there  is  no  help — he  is  bound  to  extract  that 
person's  real  opinions.  .  .  .  Singular  enough  is  such  a  con- 
versation with  him,  however,  and  it  requires  iron  nerves 
to  hold  out,  or  one  collapses.  As  soon  as  that  moment  ar- 
rives, the  Kaiser  stops.  He  confines  himself  almost  wholly 
to  questions.     Rarely  he  develops  his  own  views.     But  when 


THE   KAISERS  SPEECHES 

he  does,  an  astonishing  delicacy  of  sentiment,  coupled  with 
a  sharply  denned  and  aphoristic  mode  of  expressing  him- 
self, is  displayed.  In  his  questions  he  shows  the  born 
leader.  .  .  .  First  he  sounds  his  man.  A  few  answers,  and 
he  knows  his  ground.  Then  comes  question  after  question, 
and  he  advances  closer  and  closer,  until  the  whole  topic  has 
been  wrung  out  and  nothing  more  remains  to  be  told.  In 
these  questions  he  betrays  an  unusually  keen  and  compre- 
hensive intellect.  .  .  .  None  of  his  questions  is  off  the  mark. 
He  steers  direct  for  his  aim,  and  is  bound  to  learn  all  one 
knows  of  a  given  matter.  His  range  of  reading,  too,  and  his 
retentive  memory  are  amazing.  From  many  of  his  remarks 
I  could  see  that  he  knows  modern  literature  thoroughly.  .  .  . 
His  wide  range  of  reading  is  facilitated  by  his  capacity  of  rap- 
idly imbibing  the  essence  of  a  book.  Is  he  in  sympathy  with 
modern  German  literature  ?  I  think  not.  Art  is  looked  upon 
by  him  as  the  chief  educational  agency  at  hand.  How  does 
he  view  modern  art?  Not  very  favorably.  Modern  German 
dramatic  art  does  not  satisfy  him  for  various  reasons ;  for  one 
thing,  he  loves  powerful,  heroic  deeds  and  events  which  sway 
the  destinies  of  nations.  Can  a  kaiser,  standing  on  the  sum- 
mit of  a  great  empire,  and  having  grown  up  in  the  shadow  of 
great  events,  feel  otherwise  about  art?" 

Referring  to  Joseph  Lauff  and  his  collaboration  with 
the  Kaiser,  Baron  von  Berger  says: 

"  He  is  not  great  enough  as  a  dramatist  to  be  able  to  realize 
the  grand  conceptions  of  the  Kaiser,  who  looks  for  grandeur, 
'world-moving'  characters,  pomp  and  pageant,  and  glorious 
beauty  in  art.  ..." 

The  chief  orchestral  leader  at  the  royal  theatres  in 
Berlin,  Dr.  Muck,  personally  conducted,  a  couple  of 
years  ago,  an  unusually  fine  concert  before  the  Kaiser 
and  his  court  in  Potsdam.  The  Kaiser  had  mentioned 
his  intention  of  decorating  with  his  own  hand,  before 
the  entire  audience,  this  artist,  for  whom,  as  a  musi- 
cian, he  has  a  high  regard.  It  was  the  order  of  the  Red 
Eagle  he  wished  to  confer,  and  during  the  concert  he 
begged  the  chief  court-marshal,  Count  Eulenburg,  to 

228 


RELATIONS  TO  ART  AND  SCIENCE 

bring  him  the  insignia  of  this  order.  This  functionary, 
however,  replied  that  he  was  unable  to  lay  his  hands  on 
these  insignia  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  out  in  Pots- 
dam.- But  the  Kaiser  replied:  "Why,  nothing  easier. 
Just  hunt  up  one  of  my  aides-de-camp  and  borrow  his 
Red  Eagle  for  me."  Which  was  done,  and  the  Kaiser 
then  strode  up  to  Muck,  affixing  the  decoration  to  his 
bosom,  smilingly  saying:  " For  the  moment  I  have  un- 
hooked it  from  the  breast  of  one  of  my  aides,  since  I 
wanted  to  decorate  you  myself." 

The  day  after  the  tenth  anniversary  of  his  accession 
had  been  celebrated,  in  1898,  the  Kaiser  assembled 
around  him  the  members  of  the  three  royal  stages  in 
Berlin,  and  standing  in  the  centre  of  this  vast  group, 
in  the  concert-hall  of  the  Royal  Opera-house,  he  made 
them  a  speech,  in  which  occurred  some  significant  pas- 
sages.    He  said: 

"...  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  royal  stage  is  an  instru- 
ment of  the  monarch,  just  like  the  school  and  the  uni- 
versity, and  that  its  aim  must  be  to  educate  the  grow- 
ing generation  for  the  task  of  preserving  the  highest 
intellectual  possessions  of  our  beautiful  German  father- 
land. The  theatre  must  also  contribute  to  the  culture 
of  mind  and  character,  and  to  the  ennobling  of  our 
ethical  conceptions.  The  theatre,  too,  is  one  of  my 
weapons.  ...  It  is  a  monarch's  duty  to  foster  the  stage, 
and  both  my  father  and  grandfather  believed  this.  ...  I 
thank  you  for  cherishing  so  ably  our  grand,  sonorous 
tongue,  and  also  the  creations  of  our  intellectual  heroes 
as  well  as  those  of  other  nations,  and  that  you  have  in- 
terpreted them  so  well.  I  also  thank  you  for  fulfilling 
so  conscientiously  my  every  desire,  expressed  or  im- 
plied. Joyfully  I  can  say  now  that  all  nations  watch 
attentively  our  royal  theatres  and  admiringly  con- 
template our  achievements.  ...  I  ask  you  to  continue 

229 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

in  assisting  me,  each  of  you  in  his  place  and  in  his  way, 
to  serve  in  the  spirit  of  idealism,  and  to  fight  the  battle 
against  materialism  and  against  those  un-German  no- 
tions to  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  so  many  German 
stages  have  succumbed.  ..." 

Some  of  the  above  remarks  were  aimed  at  the  "new 
German  drama"  and  its  leaders — above  all,  Hauptmann 
and  Sudermann,  both  of  whom  the  Kaiser  has  repeat- 
edly taken  pains  to  censure  and  discriminate  against. 
How  far  he  went  in  this  respect  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  when  the  national  judges  of  Germany  had  twice 
awarded  the  great  Schiller  prize  to  Gerhart  Hauptmann 
for  his  symbolical  drama,  "The  Sunken  Bell,"  the 
Kaiser  nullified  their  decision  and  gave  the  prize  to 
Ernst  von  Wildenbruch. 

In  1902  the  Kaiser  presented,  on  the  stage  of  his 
theatre  in  Wiesbaden,  a  series  of  specially  gorgeous 
performances  of  Weber's  rearranged  opera  "Oberon," 
and  after  one  of  these  performances  he  received,  in 
special  audience,  in  May  of  that  year,  the  editor  of 
the  Paris  woman's  journal,  La  Fronde,  Mademoiselle 
Marguerite  Durand,  in  the  foyer  of  the  theatre.  He 
made  some  interesting  remarks  to  her,  saying,  among 
other  things: 

"Not  only  an  important  factor  in  instructing  the 
masses,  in  propagating  sound  ethics,  must  the  stage  be, 
but  also  the  embodiment  of  elegance  and  beauty  and 
the  realization  of  the  artist's  dream.  We  must  not 
leave  the  performance  depressed  by  the  memory  of 
saddening  or  demoralizing  pictures,  of  bitter  disap- 
pointments, but  invigorated  afresh  to  do  battle  for  our 
ideals,  and  feeling  happier  than  before.  .  .  .  Life  is  sad 
enough,  and  part  of  its  daily  doings  is  to  put  before  our 
eyes  the  most  dispiriting  reality.     Those  modern  au- 

230 


RELATIONS   TO   ART  AND   SCIENCE 

thors  who  take  pains  to  make  us  see  on  the  stage  such 
disillusioning  pictures  have  unhealthy  ideals,  and  per- 
form a  work  which  does  more  evil  than  good." 

Then  the  Kaiser,  speaking  his  French  in  his  usual 
jerky,  rapid  style,  came  to  chat  of  the  ideas  that  had 
dominated  him  in  presenting  "  Oberon"  in  the  guise  it 
had  been  seen  that  evening,  and  to  the  Frenchwoman's 
admiring  comment  he  made  answer: 

" .  .  .  .  The  public,  believe  me,  madame,  is  at  heart  of 
my  opinion.  This  'Oberon,'  whose  fairy-like  decora- 
tions and  whose  stage-setting  have  pleased  so  much  to- 
night, has  been  performed  here  in  Wiesbaden,  inside  of 
two  years,  no  fewer  than  seventy  times,  always  with 
popular  applause.  Hiilsen '  has  outdone  himself.  He 
is  a  splendid  fellow,  who  understands  my  ideas  and 
knows  how  to  translate  them  into  reality.  He  is  an 
incessantly  active,  a  great,  a  very  great,  artist.  .  .   ." 

In  1894,  Count  von  Schack,  a  noted  art  connoisseur 
and  collector,  died  in  Munich  and  left  as  a  legacy  to  the 
Kaiser  his  famous  collection  of  paintings  and  sculpt- 
ures, housed  in  a  building  of  classic  outline  and  spe- 
cially constructed  for  the  purpose.  The  citizens  of 
Munich  were  quite  wrought  up  about  this,  fearing  the 
removal  of  these  art  treasures  to  Berlin  or  Potsdam. 
The  Kaiser,  however,  not  only  deeded  over  the  collec- 
tion itself  to  the  city  of  Munich,  but  he  also  purchased 
its  site  and  the  structure  containing  the  collection,  and 
presented  them  to  Munich.  On  May  14,  1894,  a  delega- 
tion of  aldermen  from  Munich  waited  on  the  monarch 
in  the  New   Palace,  Potsdam,  to  present  the  formal 


1  Herr  von  Hiilsen  here  re- 
ferred to,  after  serving  as  "in- 
tendant"  of  the  Kaiser's  theatre 
in    Wiesbaden    for    some    years, 

231 


was  recently  appointed  general 
manager  of  the  royal  drama  and 
opera  in  Berlin,  displacing  Count 
Hochberg. — Ed. 


THE  KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

thanks  of   Bavaria's  capital.      The  Kaiser  replied  to 
their  address  in  a  very  friendly  manner. 

On  May  2,  1894,  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Arts  cele- 
brated its  bicentenary  in  the  presence  of  the  Kaiser, 
who  addressed  the  members  at  some  length,  saying: 

".  .  .  To  you  has  been  intrusted  the  sacred  mis- 
sion of  nourishing  the  flame  of  genuine  artistic  en- 
thusiasm, without  which  all  toil  in  the  field  of  art 
becomes  worthless.  As  true  and  chosen  guardians  of 
this  holy  fire,  keep  firm  hold  of  the  traditional  ideals, 
and  you  can  always  count  on  my  imperial  protection 
and  fostering  care.  ..." 

The  deep  interest  felt  by  William  II.  in  all  art  mat- 
ters is  illustrated  by  his  frequent  visits  to  studios  of 
painters  and  sculptors,  both  in  Berlin  and  elsewhere. 
On  such  occasions  he  has  often  behaved  with  great  and 
unaffected  amiability,  chatting  on  art  life  and  cognate 
topics  in  unconventional  style.  He  has  also  been  for 
many  years  a  generous  patron  of  art,  and  a  large  part 
of  his  private  revenues  has  been  spent  in  works  ordered 
by  him.  Financially  speaking,  there  has  never  been  a 
Prussian  ruler  during  whose  reign  artists  have  flour- 
ished so  greatly.  To  testify  publicly  to  his  high  appre- 
ciation of  art,  he  created,  on  New-year's  Day,  1899,  Pro- 
fessor Menzel  a  knight  of  the  Black  Eagle,  the  highest 
Prussian  decoration,  usually  conferred  only  on  crowned 
heads  or  high  dignitaries.  The  order  carries  with  it  a 
patent  of  nobility.  Menzel,  the  Nestor  of  Berlin  artists, 
had  earned  the  monarch's  special  encomiums  because 
of  his  series  of  fine  paintings  glorifying  Frederick  the 
Great  and  other  Prussian  kings.  In  his  letter  to  the 
director  of  the  Art  Academy,  Anton  von  Werner,  the 
Kaiser  refers  to  this  when  he  says  that  he  wished 
specially  to  honor  Menzel  "as  a  token  of  gratitude  for 

232 


RELATIONS  TO  ART  AND  SCIENCE 

the  services  rendered  my  house."  And  in  another 
letter  to  the  Society  of  Berlin  Artists,  the  Kaiser,  after 
thanking  that  body  for  the  appreciation  shown  at  the 
signal  honor  conferred  upon  one  of  their  craft,  dwells 
once  more  on  Menzel's  patriotism,  and  then  expresses 
the  hope  that  his  example  will  be  followed,  and  that 
German  art  will  indeed  be  national  in  its  spirit. 

This  last  phrase  was  once  more  aimed  at  the  "  Seces- 
sion," whose  modern  methods  and  whose  broad,  cos- 
mopolitan spirit  he  abhors. 

He  administered  another  stinging  rebuke  to  the 
school  of  "  Secession"  on  December  18, 1901.  On  that 
day  he  had  invited  the  sculptors — about  two  score  of 
them — who  had  executed  all  the  marble  images  of  his 
ancestors  in  the  Siegesallee,  the  main  avenue  cross- 
ing the  Thiergarten,  Berlin's  finest  public  park.  This 
"ancestral  gallery"  the  Kaiser  had  paid  for  out  of  his 
own  pocket,  and  the  whole  work,  one  of  considerable 
magnitude,  and  involving  an  outlay  of  close  on  to  a 
million  dollars,  had  been  done  according  to  his  own 
suggestions  and,  in  many  cases,  his  explicit  commands. 
The  sculptors  engaged  in  this  work  for  a  period  of  about 
three  years  had,  of  course,  been  selected  by  him,  and 
were  one  and  all  sound  in  the  matter  of  "traditional 
ideals."  On  this  particular  day  he  gave  them  a  ban- 
quet in  the  royal  castle,  Berlin,  and  the  affair  must 
have  been  highly  enjoyable  for  all  concerned.  There 
was  an  entire  absence  of  pomp  or  court  etiquette,  all 
his  guests  being  seated  at  one  long  table,  with  the 
imperial  Maecenas  in  the  middle  of  the  long  row.  Tow- 
ards the  close  of  the  feast  the  Emperor  made  a  long 
speech,  in  which  occurred  several  passages  of  general 
interest.     He  said : 

".  .  .  The  historian  of  my  house,  Professor  Dr. 
Koser,  furnished  me  with  the  material  submitted  to 

2  33 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

you,  gentlemen,  and  which  enabled  you  to  put  my  ideas 
into  tangible  form.  ...  It  was  my  opinion  that  I 
could  show  to  the  world  the  easiest  solution  for  artistic 
tasks  like  mine — not  commissions,  not  competitions, 
no  prize  juries,  but  simply,  in  the  same  way  it  had  been 
done  in  the  classic  age  and  in  mediasval  times,  by  direct 
communication  between  patron  and  artist,  thus  furnish- 
ing the  best  guarantee  for  the  successful  shaping  and 
completion  of  the  whole  work.  I  am,  therefore,  under 
special  obligation  to  Professor  Reinhold  Begas l  for  as- 
suring me  that  there  was  quite  sufficient  talent  in  Ber- 
lin to  carry  out,  most  satisfactorily,  such  an  idea  as 
mine.  ...  In  art,  as  in  nature,  the  same  eternal,  im- 
mutable law  governs — the  law  of  beauty,  the  law  of 
harmony,  the  law  of  aesthetics.  This  law  the  ancients 
apprehended  so  amazingly,  so  overpoweringly,  that  we 
to-day,  with  our  modern  sentiments  and  with  all  our 
knowledge,  are  proud  if  we  are  told,  after  completing 
something  especially  good:  This  is  almost  as  fine  as 
they  made  it  nineteen  hundred  years  ago — but  only 
almost,  remember. 

"  It  is  in  this  sense  and  under  this  impression  I  should 
like  to  say  to  you:  Sculpture  has  thus  far  remained 
almost  totally  free  from  the  influence  of  the  so-called 
modern  ideas  and  currents.  It  still  stands  high  and 
pure.  Keep  it  so,  and  do  not  allow  yourselves  to  be 
misled  by  gibes  and  by  the  criticism  of  the  multitude, 
nor  to  abandon  the  principles  upon  which  sculpture 
is  founded.  .  .  .  Under  the  flag  of  that  much-abused 
word,  liberty,  many  fall  away  into  lawlessness,  anarchy, 


1  Professor  Begas,  after  enjoy- 
ing the  Kaiser's  favor  in  a  very 
marked  degree  for  many  years, 
and  who  was  chosen  by  him  to 
execute  a  number  of  monumental 
sculptural  works,  including  the 
great     national     monument     to 

234 


William  I.  in  Berlin,  as  well  as 
the  one  to  Bismarck  in  front  of 
the  Reichstag  structure,  has  re- 
cently fallen  from  grace,  and  is 
at  present  in  outspoken  disfavor 
with  his  imperial  master  the  Kai- 
ser.— Ed. 


RELATIONS  TO  ART  AND  SCIENCE 

and  self-sufficiency.  Whoever  turns  his  back  upon  the 
law  of  beauty  loses  the  sentiment  of  harmony  and 
aesthetics,  .  .  .  and  whoever  begins  to  see  his  main 
work  in  a  special  direction,  in  a  special  solution  of  the 
purely  technical  tasks  of  art,  sins  against  the  primal 
sources  of  art.  But,  more  than  this,  art  has  the 
mission  to  aid  in  educating  the  masses.  She  is  to 
enable  the  lower  classes,  after  their  hard  toil  and  labor 
is  over  for  the  day,  to  revive  and  be  lifted  up  above 
the  ordinary  in  contemplation  of  the  ideal.  To  us, 
to  the  German  people,  the  great  ideals  have  become 
permanent  possessions,  whereas  the  other  nations  have 
lost  them- — more  or  less.  Solely  the  German  people 
remains,  and  our  special  mission  it  is  to  hoard,  to 
foster,  and  to  continue  these  great  thoughts.  And 
one  of  these  ideals  consists  in  furnishing  the  perspiring 
and  toiling  masses  the  possibility  to  rejoice  in  beauty 
and  to  lift  themselves  up,  for  the  time  being,  out  of 
their  every-day  circle  of  narrow,  brutish  thoughts.  If, 
however,  art,  as  is  nowadays  often  the  case,  does  noth- 
ing but  to  represent  this  human  misery  in  even  more 
repulsive  form  than  reality  furnishes  us  with,  she  in- 
jures and  sins  against  the  German  people.  The  nurt- 
ure of  ideals  is  the  greatest  task  of  civilization,  and  if 
in  that  respect  we  mean  to  be  and  remain  a  model  to 
the  other  nations,  our  whole  country  must  help  in  the 
task.  And  if  civilization  means  to  fulfil  its  mission 
entirely,  it  must  percolate  and  permeate  down  to  the 
lowest  strata  of  the  population.  That  it  can  only  do 
if  art  stretches  out  her  hand,  if  art  lifts  up  instead 
of  pulling  down  into  the  gutter.  As  ruler  of  this  coun- 
try I  feel  it  sometimes  bitterly  when  art,  as  embodied 
in  her  masters,  does  not  oppose  such  currents  ener- 
getically enough.  I  do  not  deny  for  a  moment  that 
there  is  many  a  serious-minded  and  ambitious  disciple 
among  the  adherents  of  those  currents,  many  a  one, 

235 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

perhaps,  guided  by  the  best  intentions.     But  he  is, 
nevertheless,  on  the  wrong  path.  ..." 

On  January  25,  1902,  the  Kaiser  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Berlin  Museum  of  Applied  Art,  there  to  dedicate  a 
portrait  of  the  late  Emperor  and  Empress  Frederick, 
who  were  also  the  founders  of  this  fine  institution 
which  has  done  so  much  to  revive  the  cunning  handi- 
craft and  the  artistic  sense  of  the  artisan  in  mediaeval 
Germany.  He  was  welcomed  by  Professor  Dr.  Richard 
Schone,  the  chief  curator  of  the  Berlin  museums,  who 
made  an  address,  to  which  the  monarch  replied.  He 
first  paid  a  graceful  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his 
parents,  and  then  he  dwelt  upon  the  great  mission  of 
this  particular  museum,  pointing  out  to  its  pupils  the 
example  furnished  by  their  ancestors,  and  that  in  a 
period  of  renewed  material  prosperity,  such  as  Ger- 
many had  not  seen  for  centuries,  it  was  their  task  to 
revive  the  old  and  half -forgotten  traditions  of  artistic 
handiwork  nobly  done.     Then  he  said : 

"...  The  priceless  collections  garnered  under  this 
roof  testify  to  the  art  and  the  love  of  art  which  lived 
in  our  forefathers.  ...  It  will  be  carrying  out  the  in- 
tentions of  my  parents  to  bring  this  sentiment  back 
once  more  to  the  hearts  of  the  common  people.  .  .  . 
Artistic  form  must  always  go  back  for  its  inspiration 
to  the  approved  beauty  of  former  ages.  .  .  .  What  was 
beautiful  once  remains  beautiful  forevermore.  ..." 

For  the  exact  sciences,  inventions  drawing  their 
breath  from  these  realms,  and  for  technical  progress,  the 
Kaiser  has,  as  the  world  knows,  steadily  evinced  the 
liveliest  interest.  It  is  his  never-ending  care  to  keep 
himself  abreast,  in  general  outlines  as  in  details,  of  this 
perpetual  advance.     Nothing  of  interest  escapes  him, 

236 


RELATIONS  TO  ART  AND  SCIENCE 

and  experts  like  Slaby,  Rathenau,  or  Riedler,  discov- 
erers and  inventors  like  Roentgen,  Koch,  or  Behring, 
are  frequently  invited  to  explain  or  demonstrate  to 
him,  en  petit  comite,  the  latest  successes  of  exact  science. 
However,  he  turns  his  attention,  too,  to  other  matters, 
as  was  recently  shown  when  he  listened  to  a  series  of 
private  lectures  delivered  before  him  by  Professor 
Delitzsch,  the  noted  Assyriologist,  on  the  non-divine 
origin  of  the  Old  -  Testamentary  history  of  creation. 
All  agree  in  saying  that  the  Kaiser's  nimble  and  acute 
intellect  usually  enables  him  to  get  very  quickly  at  the 
gist  of  a  matter,  never  mind  how  abstruse,  and  that  in 
his  questions  he  shows  a  surprising  amount  of  well- 
digested  and  comprehensive  knowledge  on  every  possi- 
ble subject.  Besides  which  he  has  an  ever-ready  and 
very  efficient  tool  by  which  he  is  greatly  assisted  in  all 
this — viz.,  the  Literary  Bureau  of  the  Prussian  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  which  supplies  him  daily  with 
clippings  on  a  wide  range  of  topics. 

The  Berlin  Academy  of  Sciences  commemorated 
with  considerable  pomp,  on  March  19,  1900,  the  bicen- 
tenary of  its  existence.  At  the  instance  of  the  Kaiser, 
the  main  ceremony  took  place  in  the  gorgeous  White 
Hall  of  the  royal  castle.  A  small  number  of  honorary 
members  were  created  on  this  occasion,  among  them 
Dr.  A.  D.  White,  then  American  ambassador  to  Ger- 
many. The  Kaiser  announced  his  special  gifts  to  the 
institution,  including  large  sums  for  the  publication 
of  the  complete  works  of  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  and 
of  other  important  scientific  works,  and  the  list  of 
special  appropriations  made  for  this  occasion  by  the 
Royal  Ministry  of  Education.  In  a  speech  of  some 
length  he  then  answered  the  oration  of  the  minister, 
Dr.  Bosse.  Among  other  things  he  said,  first  pointing 
out  the  unceasing  solicitude  shown  for  the  academy 
by  his  predecessors,  above  all  by  Frederick  the  Great : 

237 


THE    KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

".  .  .  In  increasing  the  number  of  chairs  in  the 
philosophic  -  historical  class,  especially  those  for  the 
special  study  and  research  of  the  German  tongue,  I 
had  in  view  the  fact  that  now,  under  a  reunited  empire, 
this  branch  of  science  deserves  to  be  fostered  with 
particular  care,  and  the  fundamental  charter  of  this 
institution,  of  the  year  1700,  lays  stress  on  this  point. 
But  it  was  also  necessary  to  increase  the  chairs  for 
the  study  and  research  of  the  physico-mathematical 
class,  in  view  of  the  incomparably  heightened  impor- 
tance of  it  and  because  of  the  enormous  progress  in 
technical  sciences.  ...  In  this  unselfish  devotion  to 
science,  to  which  the  academy  owes  much,  and  which 
guarantees  its  continuance  and  the  fruitfulness  of  its 
labors,  this  institution  at  the  same  time  serves  the 
divine  will,  whose  decrees  bid  mankind  to  penetrate 
deeper  and  ever  deeper  into  the  knowledge  of  God's 
purposes.  ..." 

On  June  16,  1902,  the  Kaiser  and  a  number  of  other 
German  sovereigns  attended  the  jubilee  of  the  Ger- 
manic Museum  in  Nuremberg.  The  Kaiser  presented 
to  that  institution  a  valuable  collection  of  historical 
seals,  including  those  of  all  the  Teutonic  rulers,  from 
Pippin  to  Francis  II.,  enclosed  in  a  very  finely  carved 
cabinet.  After  speeches  by  the  director  of  the  museum, 
Von  Bezold,  and  by  the  protector  of  it,  the  Prince- 
Regent  of  Bavaria,  the  Kaiser  read,  in  a  penetrating 
voice  that  could  be  heard  over  the  wide  expanse,  a 
document  in  which  he  briefly  reviewed  the  history  of 
the  institution  from  its  foundation  by  King  Louis  I. 
of  Bavaria  and  King  John  of  Saxony  to  the  present, 
and  drew  attention  to  the  patriotic  purposes  subserved 
by  it. 

From  August  6  th  to  9  th,  1902,  the  Kaiser  was  on  a 
visit  to  Reval,  Russia,  where  he  met  Czar  Nicholas  II. 

238 


RELATIONS   TO   ART   AND   SCIENCE 

On  his  return  to  Stettin,  August  ioth,  he  learned  for 
the  first  time  of  an  incident  in  the  Bavarian  Parlia- 
ment. The  Ultramontane  members  of  it  had  refused, 
in  a  spirit  of  pique  at  the  dismissal  of  one  of  their 
number  from  a  high  government  office,  to  grant  the 
customary  sums  for  Bavarian  art  purposes.  In  his 
impulsive  way,  the  Kaiser  at  once  wired  to  the  Prince- 
Regent  of  Bavaria  as  follows : 

"  Just  returned  from  my  voyage,  I  read  with  deepest 
indignation  of  the  refusal  to  grant  the  sums  you  asked 
for  art  purposes.  I  hasten  to  express  my  anger  at  the 
vile  ingratitude  which  finds  vent  in  this  action,  an  in- 
gratitude not  alone  shown  to  the  House  of  Wittelsbach, 
but  also  towards  your  august  person,  which  has  con- 
sistently shone  as  a  model  for  the  promotion  of  and 
help  to  art.  I  beg  of  you  to  permit  me  to  place  at 
your  disposal  the  sum  required  to  enable  you  to  carry 
out  fully  those  art  projects  which  you  have  in  mind." 

The  Prince- Regent,  however,  answered  in  a  rather 
reserved  manner,  several  of  the  sentences  in  his  reply 
being  generally  construed  as  a  reminder  to  the  Kaiser 
that  he  was  needlessly  meddling  with  Bavarian  internal 
affairs,  and  winding  up  with  the  declaration  that  a 
wealthy  member  of  the  Bavarian  Upper  House  had 
already  donated  the  entire  sum  needed. 

Throughout  Bavaria,  however,  indignation  was  open- 
ly expressed  at  what  the  local  press  styled  "this  un- 
warranted interference  in  their  home  politics."  At 
the  reconvening  of  the  Reichstag,  some  months  later, 
a  Bavarian  leader  of  the  Centre,  Dr.  Schaedler,  lent 
voice  to  this  indignation. 


XV 

FURTHERING  COMMERCE  AND  NAVIGATION 

Dedicating  the  free  port  of  Hamburg — Inspecting  the  ships  of 
the  North  German  Lloyd — Promising  all  possible  aid  to 
German  shipping — The  Kaiser  explains  his  programme  on 
board  a  Lloyd  steamer — Lauding  the  progressive  spirit  of  the 
Stettin  citizens — His  ideas  about  aquatic  sports — The  Dort- 
mund-Ems Canal — His  despatch  after  the  great  Lloyd  fire 
in  Hoboken  —  Congratulating  the  record-breaker  Deutsch- 
land — Significant  words  in  Danzig — Emphasizing  the  need 
of  a  large  navy. 

There  is  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  phenomenal 
advance  of  Germany  in  commerce  and  navigation  dur- 
ing the  last  decade  is  in  good  measure  due  to  the  Kai- 
ser's never-ceasing  encouragement,  to  the  intelligent 
interest  shown  by  him  in  this  progress,  and  to  the 
pressure  he  exerted  upon  German  national  legislation 
favoring  such  advance. 

Some  of  his  speeches  contain  such  crisp,  telling  phrases 
in  behalf  of  commercial  and  trans-oceanic  expansion, 
that  they  have  since  become  mottoes  for  the  German 
people.  His  graphic  saying,  "  Our  future  lies  on  the 
water,"  which  he  interjected  into  an  address  on  the 
opening  of  the  large,  new  harbor  of  Stettin,  belongs  to 
this  category. 

A  few  months  after  his  accession,  on  October  29, 
1888,  in  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  free  port  of 
Hamburg,  he  inaugurated  the  ceremonies  by  three  taps 
with  his  mallet,  saying: 

240 


FURTHERING    COMMERCE   AND   NAVIGATION 

"  In  honor  of  God. 

"  For  the  fatherland's  welfare. 

"For  Hamburg's  progress." 

And  at  the  great  feast  afterwards  given  by  the  city 
of  Hamburg,  the  Kaiser  spoke  appreciatively  of  the 
patriotism  of  the  citizens,  of  his  former  visits  there, 
and  of  his  steadfast  efforts  to  preserve  peace  and  to 
promote  general  prosperity.     Then  he  said: 

"  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  day  full  of  meaning  in  the  di- 
rection indicated.  The  great  work  the  completion  of 
which  we  all  celebrate  is  the  first  one  in  a  series  of  im- 
portant measures  intended  to  benefit  the  interior  de- 
velopment of  the  empire,  and  it  gives  me  special  pleas- 
ure that  it  is  your  city  which  is  the  first  to  profit.  .  .  . 
You  are  doing  great  service  for  the  fatherland,  for  it  is 
you  who  unite  us  by  invisible  bonds  with  far-away  con- 
tinents, bringing  thence  their  products.  And  it  is  you 
who  scatter  our  ideas  and  convictions  over  the  whole 
world.    For  this  the  fatherland  owes  you  vast  thanks." 

On  April  i,  1890,  the  Kaiser  laid  the  foundation- 
stone  in  Bremen  for  a  monument  to  his  grandfather. 
He  delivered  himself  at  some  length  on  this  occasion, 
saying,  among  other  things: 

"...  I  deem  it  my  highest  duty  to  safeguard  the  em- 
pire in  the  enjoyment  of  all  which  we  have  a  right  to 
claim,  and  to  foster  and  enlarge  our  interests.  Es- 
pecially, though,  am  I  glad  to  have  this  opportunity 
for  assuring  you  that  I,  so  far  as  my  government  and  I 
are  able  to  do  so,  mean  to  see  to  it  that  the  commerce 
and  the  magnificent  enterprise  of  your  city  be  allowed 
to  unfold  themselves  quietly  and  to  flourish  more  and 
more." 

16  241 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

From  Bremen  he  undertook,  on  the  same  day,  a  trip 
to  Bremerhaven,  where  he  inspected  thoroughly  the 
ships,  docks,  warehouses,  and  other  buildings  of  the 
North  German  Lloyd.  While  on  board  the  Fulda,  one 
of  the  large  Lloyd  steamers,  he  said: 

"...  I  can  say  that  among  the  manifold  interests 
which  I  have  to  keep  an  eye  on,  so  far  as  my  govern- 
ment and  the  empire  are  concerned,  there  is  scarcely  a 
thing  which  fills  me  with  greater  sympathy  than  the 
life  and  progress  of  your  society.  Every  new  ship  you 
order  built,  every  success  which  your  ships  score,  every 
new  line  which  you  establish,  is  a  source  of  pleasure  and 
pride  to  me,  and  not  only  to  me,  but  to  many  others  in 
the  interior  of  the  country  who  feel  the  same  thrill  of 
joy  at  your  steady  advance.  .  .  . 

"  Of  course,  it  is  one  of  my  chief  cares  to  maintain 
peace.  .  .  .  For  trade  and  shipping  can  only  prosper 
when  business  is  protected  under  the  aegis  of  lasting 
peace.  There  may  be  moments  when  the  business 
world  begins  to  indulge  fears,  and  when  the  outsider 
thinks  that  times  of  danger  are  approaching.  But  do 
not  lose  heart — often  things  do  not  look  so  black  when 
viewed  closely. 

"To  use  a  simile,  I  should  like  to  tell  you  of  a  little 
incident  from  which  I,  as  an  enthusiastic  sailor,  and 
conforming  to  a  German  habit,  which  makes  one  draw 
conclusions,  judging  natural  phenomena  by  one's  self, 
deduce  a  lesson  for  all  of  us.  It  happened  on  my  first 
trip  with  our  naval  squadron  to  the  Baltic.  We  were 
running  through  thick  fog  since  three  in  the  morning. 
Only  the  tooting  and  shrieking  of  the  steam -sirens 
were  audible,  and  from  time  to  time  cannon-shots,  which 
indicated  the  position  of  the  various  vessels.  At  eight 
o'clock  the  course  was  to  be  changed.  The  fog  on 
board  was  so  thick  that  one  could  not  even  see  as  far 

242 


FURTHERING    COMMERCE  AND   NAVIGATION 

as  the  chart-house,  let  alone  seeing  another  ship,  and 
there  were  doubts  as  to  how  the  change  of  course  could 
be  effected.  It  was,  however,  effected,  and  about  an 
hour  later  my  Hohenzollern  suddenly  emerged  out  of 
the  fog-bank,  and  we  were  going,  with  a  stiff  breeze, 
under  a  sapphire  sky  and  bright  sunshine.  In  the  rear, 
however,  the  fog  still  lay  like  an  enormous  cloud  upon 
the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  only  the  shrill  sounds  of  the 
sirens  could  be  heard  from  that  direction.  But  all  at 
once,  high  up  in  the  mist,  apparently  borne  aloft  by  the 
hand  of  a  cherub,  the  German  flag  was  seen  flying  on- 
ward. It  was  the  admiral's  flag,  flying  from  the  mast- 
head of  the  Kaiser,  which,  leading  the  division  and  still 
in  the  fog,  had  followed  us.  .  .  .  Ten  minutes  later  the 
entire  squadron  appeared,  in  faultless  order  and  steer- 
ing the  new  course,  issuing,  one  by  one,  out  of  the  fog. 

"Well,  gentlemen,  let  this  little  incident  teach  us 
that,  no  matter  if  our  country,  our  navy,  and  our 
commerce  are  to  have  their  dark  hours  and  their 
fog-banks,  they  will  emerge  unscathed,  and  they  will 
reach  their  destination,  according  to  the  good  motto, 
1  We  Germans  fear  God,  and  naught  beside.' 

"And,  therefore,  I  should  like  to  ask  you:  When- 
ever you  read  in  the  papers  or  notice  in  public  affairs 
things  which  do  not  seem  to  please  you,  which  you  do 
not  understand,  and  whenever  my  remarks  or  con- 
versations are  interpreted  in  all  sorts  of  ways- — as 
happens,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  very  frequently — always 
remember  what  I  have  just  told  you,  and  remember 
also  what  one  of  the  ancient  German  emperors  once 
said :  '  A  Kaiser's  word  is  not  to  be  twisted  nor  mis- 
read!'" 

On  June  i,  1896,  the  Kaiser  sent  a  telegram  to  the 
North  German  Lloyd,  apprising  the  directors  that 
he  had  granted  permission  to  all  German   merchant 

243 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

vessels  whose  captains  were  inscribed  on  the  rolls  of 
the  naval  militia  to  carry  the  iron  cross  on  their  flag,  as 
a  mark  of  distinction  and  appreciation. 

The  Kaiser  undertook,  on  March  25,  1898,  an  ex- 
cursion on  board  the  fastest  Lloyd  steamer,  the  Wil- 
helm  der  Grosse,  starting  from  Bremerhaven,  then  pass- 
ing Heligoland,  and  some  distance  north.  The  trip 
was  to  inaugurate  the  service  of  the  new  vessel.  On 
board,  during  dinner,  the  Kaiser  was  toasted  by  one  of 
the  Lloyd  directors,  Plate,  and  made  a  reply,  saying : 

"...  You  have  mentioned  in  a  flattering  way  my 
efforts  to  safeguard  peace.  If  it  has  been  given  me 
to  preserve  peace  during  the  whole  time  I  have  been 
at  the  head  of  affairs,  we  must  remember  the  heroic 
form  of  the  first  German  Emperor  of  Hohenzollern 
blood,  who  with  the  expenditure  of  his  whole  strength 
created  for  us  in  the  army  that  bulwark  which  alone  has 
vouchsafed  peace  to  the  fatherland  up  to  this  hour. 
For  only  by  living  under  the  blessings  of  peace  may  a 
nation  develop.  We,  who  are  assembled  to-day  so 
joyously  on  board  of  this  ship,  could  never  have  done 
so  if  peace  had  not  been  kept  and  enforced.  .  .  .  May 
it  be  permitted  to  Germany,  striving  ever  onward,  to 
develop  her  trade  and  her  material  interests  into  a 
healthy  blossom.  May  the  North  German  Lloyd  suc- 
ceed in  remaining  the  first  in  the  field,  and  to  collabo- 
rate in  this  aim." 

A  few  months  later,  on  June  20,  1898,  the  Kaiser 
was  on  board  the  Pretoria,  of  the  Hamburg-American 
line,  off  Cuxhaven.  The  president  of  the  North  Ger- 
man Regatta  Association,  Burgomaster  Versmann,  of 
Hamburg,  pointed  out  in  a  speech  that  the  Pretoria 
was  the  largest  merchant  vessel  afloat  at  the  time. 
He  said  this  fact  was  significant,  because  Germany  had 

244 


FURTHERING   COMMERCE   AND   NAVIGATION 

at  last  seriously  engaged  in  the  task  of  regaining  the 
first  position  in  the  world's  sea-trade,  a  position  which 
during  the  Middle  Ages  she  had  held,  but  which  un- 
kind fate  and  grave  national  reverses  had  wrested  from 
her  grasp.  The  Kaiser  had  listened  attentively  to  this 
speech,  and  after  the  cheers  which  Versmann's  remarks 
had  elicited  had  died  away,  he  first  spoke  of  the  high 
value  of  aquatic  sports,  and  expressed  gratification 
that  the  well-timed  races  of  the  North  German  Regatta 
Association  had  given  him  a  chance  to  open  up  the 
Kiel  regattas  by  these  races  at  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe. 
He  spoke  of  the  great  hygienic  benefits  to  be  derived 
from  rowing  and  sailing,  and  that  this  sport  gave  nerves 
of  steel.  Then  he  dwelt,  as  he  had  done  on  many 
previous  occasions,  on  the  interest  he  felt  in  commerce 
and  industry,  and  acknowledged  a  debt  of  gratitude 
to  the  merchants  and  ship-owners  of  the  Hansa  towns, ' 
who  had  often  furnished  him  with  valuable  hints  and 
original  views  which  had  been  of  subsequent  service 
to  him.  It  was  due,  in  part,  to  his  intercourse  with 
the  enterprising  and  far-sighted  citizens  of  the  Hansa 
towns  that  his  views  had  undergone  considerable 
modification,  and  that  he  had  become  firmly  convinced 
of  the  absolute  necessity  for  Germany  to  expand  in 
navigation  and  transmarine  trade.  The  Kaiser  con- 
cluded this  speech,  which  was  wholly  unprepared 
and  informal,  by  assuring  those  present — nearly  all  of 
whom  were  representative  merchants  of  Hamburg  or 
Bremen — that  they  could  always  count  on  the  em- 
pire's protection  in  their  undertakings  abroad. 


'Of  the  old  German  Hansa,  a 
confederation  of  towns  compris- 
ing at  its  most  flourishing  period 
seventy-two  important  harbor 
and  inland  cities,  but  three  re- 
main to-day  —  viz.,  Hamburg, 
Bremen,  and  Ltibeck.     They  en- 

245 


joy  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment, but  form  part  of  the  em- 
pire, and  send  their  representa- 
tives both  to  the  Bundesrath 
(Federal  Council)  and  Reichs- 
tag, sharing  in  national  legisla- 
tion.— Ed. 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

The  new  harbor  of  Stettin,  which  enlarged  the  ship- 
ping facilities  of  that  Baltic  emporium  enormously, 
was  dedicated,  on  September  23,  1898,  with  much  pomp 
and  ceremony.  The  imperial  couple  attended,  and 
to  the  oration  of  the  chief  burgomaster,  Hacken,  the 
Kaiser  replied.  He  first  referred  to  the  fact  that  the 
city's  growing  prosperity  was  due,  in  the  first  place, 
to  his  grandfather's  wise  measures  abolishing  the  an- 
cient fortress  walls  which  had  confined  the  old  town 
within  too  narrow  limits.  Then  he  spoke  of  the 
"genuine  Pomeranian  obstinacy"  which  had  made 
Stettin  hold  firm  to  its  purpose  of  gaining  free  elbow- 
room  and  a  fair  chance  to  ply  the  ocean.  He  con- 
tinued : 

"  I  am  glad  of  that,  for  I  see  that  the  old  Pomeranian 
spirit,  doughty  and  reckless,  is  still  alive  in  you,  and 
that  it  has  driven  you  on  the  water.  Our  future  lies 
on  the  sea,  and  I  am  firmly,  convinced  that  your  en- 
deavors, which  you  especially,  Herr  Chief  Burgomaster, 
have  promoted  with  far-seeing  eye  and  with  never- 
ceasing  effort,  will,  centuries  hence,  make  your  name 
dear  to  the  grateful  citizens  of  Stettin.  As  your  liege 
and  monarch,  I  offer  you  my  thanks  for  having  brought 
Stettin  to  its  present  flourishing  condition,  and  I  hope 
and  trust — I  might  almost  say,  I  demand — that  the  city 
will  go  on  developing  at  the  same  rate,  and  that  its 
purposes  may  never  be  troubled  by  partisan  feeling, 
but  will  always  be  directed  towards  the  common  good, 
thus  lifting  you  up  to  an  altitude  of  prosperity  which 
we  at  present  can  scarcely  foretell.    Such  is  my  wish." 

On  June  17,  1899,  the  Kaiser  witnessed  the  Elbe  re- 
gattas at  Brunsbiittel,  and  then  went  on  board  the 
Hamburg- American  liner  Fiirst  Bismarck,  where  he 
personally  distributed  the  prizes  in  the  ladies'  saloon. 

246 


FURTHERING   COMMERCE   AND   NAVIGATION 

At  eight  o'clock  was  served  a  gorgeous  banquet  in  the 
dining-saloon,  which  had  been  tastefully  decorated  with 
flags  and  flowers  for  the  occasion.  Some  one  hundred 
and  eighty  persons  partook,  among  them  the  Kaiser 
and  his  large  suite,  the  participants  at  the  regatta,  and 
some  of  the  directors  and  shareholders  of  the  Hamburg- 
American  line.  The  Kaiser  sat  between  the  Hamburg 
burgomaster,  Monckeberg,  and  the  president  of  the 
Hamburg-American  line,  Ballin.  Monckeberg  proposed 
the  toast  to  the  Emperor,  attributing  to  the  Kaiser  the 
recent  growth  in  Germany  of  aquatic  sports,  and  draw- 
ing a  parallel  between  that  and  German  expansion  on 
the  seas.     To  this  the  monarch  replied: 

"...  It  is  no  flattery  when  I  say  that  I  always  antici- 
pate with  keen  pleasure  the  day  of  the  Elbe  regatta,  for 
it  always  means  to  me  an  enjoyable  holiday  after  hard 
labor.  To  be  with  men  who  share  in  my  aims,  with 
men  of  brains  and  spirit,  fully  appreciating  the  signs  of 
the  times,  and  who  have  seen  and  heard  much,  is  a 
solace  and  boon  to  me,  and  it  always  stirs  me  to  new 
thoughts  and  new  action.  .  .  . 

"  I  fully  expect  that  the  growing  personal  intercourse 
between  the  men  of  the  interior  and  those  of  the  wasser- 
kante1  will  conduce  to  the  whole  country's  advantage, 
and  will  scatter  much  fruitful  knowledge  among  the  na- 
tion. Gentlemen,  you  have  just  told  me,  and  I  am 
grateful  to  you  for  it,  that  you  support  and  understand 
my  policy.  It  is  my  endeavor  to  discover  everywhere 
new  coigns  of  vantage,  whence  we  can  unfold  a  profit- 
able activity.  Later  on  our  children  and  grandchildren 
will  be  in  condition  to  utilize  fully  what  we  have  ac- 
quired for  them.  Slowly,  very  slowly,  the  conviction 
has  gained  ground  among  our  countrymen  of  the  im- 

1  The  word  wasserkante  is  the  I  plied  to  the  coast-line,  east  and 
popular  German  term  that  is  ap- 1  west,  of  Germany. — Ed. 

247 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

mense  importance  of  the  sea  and  of  sea-power,  and  as 
slowly  spread  a  general  understanding  of  the  nature 
of  marine  affairs  and  interests.  But  this  conviction 
has  now  taken  hold  of  the  national  mind,  and  once  an 
idea,  a  conviction,  has  become  a  spark  in  the  German 
mind,  it  grows  to  a  leaping,  strong  flame.  Thus  it 
will  be  in  this  case.  ..." 

After  the  dinner  the  Kaiser  remained  on  deck  until 
one  o'clock  conversing  in  lively  fashion.  F.  Laeiss,  one 
of  the  largest  Hamburg  ship-owners,  asked  him  if  he 
would  not  like  to  view,  next  day,  one  of  his  vessels,  then 
the  largest  sailing-vessel  in  the  world — namely,  the 
five-mast  bark  Potosi,  plying  between  Hamburg  and 
the  west  coast  of  South  America.  The  Kaiser  prom- 
ised at  once,  slapping  the  old  gentleman  on  the  back  in 
jovial  mood,  and  answering  him  in  the  broad  local  dia- 
lect of  Hamburg. 

Promptly  the  next  morning  the  Kaiser  and  his  suite 
boarded  the  Potosi,  examining  the  vessel,  in  his  usual 
way,  from  stem  to  stern,  and  chatting  with  a  number 
of  the  sailors.  To  the  captain  of  the  vessel,  Hilgendorf , 
known  on  the  coast  as  the  "  Flying  Dutchman."  because 
of  his  fast  passages,  the  Kaiser  gave  his  photograph, 
with  autograph  signature. 

On  July  i,  1899,  the  Kaiser  was  in  Lubeck,  welcom- 
ing the  new  local  yacht  club  as  a  member  of  the  Im- 
perial German  Yacht  Club,  and  saying:  " That  again  is 
a  new  evidence  of  the  nation's  wakened  marine  ambi- 
tions." In  his  speech  at  the  luncheon  served  in  his 
honor,  the  Kaiser  aptly  used  an  ancient  Lubeck  motto 
he  had  discovered  in  the  old  session-hall  of  the  munici- 
pal building,  in  counselling  patience  and  persistency  in 
the  endeavor  to  regain  the  city's  former  pre-eminence 
on  the  ocean. 

The  inauguration  of  the  Dortmund-Ems  Canal,  join- 

248 


FURTHERING    COMMERCE  AND    NAVIGATION 

ing  the  Westphalian  city  of  Dortmund  with  the  North 
Sea  by  means  of  a  navigable  canal,  was  attended  by  the 
Kaiser  on  August  n,  1899.  He  arrived  that  day  in 
Rauxel,  near  Dortmund,  where  he  was  received  by  the 
chancellor  of  the  empire  and  a  number  of  ministers  of 
the  crown,  afterwards  proceeding,  first  by  carriage  and 
then  by  boat,  to  various  points  of  interest  along  the 
canal.  The  school-children,  headed  by  their  masters 
and  by  the  local  authorities,  were  lined  up  along  the 
whole  route,  cheering  the  Kaiser.  Then  the  latter  re- 
turned to  Dortmund,  to  assist  in  the  formal  dedication 
of  the  new  harbor  for  sea-going  vessels.  In  answer  to 
an  address  by  the  chief  burgomaster  of  Dortmund, 
Schmieding,  the  Kaiser  replied,  rendering  thanks  for 
the  sympathetic  reception  accorded  him,  and  then 
saying : 

"...  The  work  which  I  have  just  viewed  will,  I  trust, 
enable  Dortmund  again  to  venture  on  the  sea,  as  she 
did  in  former  days.  But  this  canal,  I  take  it,  is  but  the 
first  part  of  the  whole.  The  canal,  I  say,  will  be  event- 
ually but  an  integral  portion  of  the  great  Midland  Canal, 
to  build  and  operate  which  both  I  and  my  government 
are  unalterably  resolved.  It  is,  of  course,  difficult  to 
spread  such  new  and  big  ideas  quickly  among  the  pop- 
ulation, and  to  win  understanding  and  appreciation  for 
them.  Nevertheless  I  am  of  opinion  that  in  time  the 
conviction  will  make  headway  that  the  completion  of 
our  more  important  waterways  is  an  absolute  necessity, 
and  that  it  will  have  in  its  wake  blessings  for  both  in- 
dustry and  agriculture.1  .  .  . 

"...  We  must  not  forget  that  the  constantly  growing 


1  The  Kaiser's  will  in  this  re- 
spect has,  however,  meanwhile 
been  twice  defeated.  Two  gov- 
ernment bills,  introduced  succes- 


sively in  the  Prussian  Diet,  failed 
of  passage,  due  to  Agrarian  oppo- 
sition. The  Kaiser  received  the 
snub  almost  in  silence. — Ed. 


!49 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

needs  of  our  country  imperatively  demand  new  and 
easy  ways  of  communication,  and  as  such  we  must  re- 
gard waterways  next  to  railroads.  The  exchange  of 
bulky  commodities  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  by 
which  agriculture  is  profiting  above  all,  can  only  be 
cheaply  and  easily  effected  by  water.  I  am  in  hopes, 
therefore,  that  the  representative  bodies  of  legislation, 
noting  this  fact,  will  enable  me  to  confer  the  blessings 
of  this  canal,  if  possible,  in  the  course  of  this  present 
year,  on  the  people  as  a  whole." 

Later  in  the  day,  after  a  visit  to  the  ancient  Rath- 
haus  (municipal  building)  of  Dortmund,  the  Kaiser 
elaborated  still  further  the  same  train  of  thought.  He 
again  dwelt  on  the  need  by  Germany  of  more  numer- 
ous and  inexpensive  methods  of  communication,  tell- 
ing of  various  canal  projects  in  olden  days,  and  em- 
phasized the  fact  that  in  such  matters  it  was  always 
the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number  that  deserved 
consideration,  and  that  the  possible  incidental  loss  to 
the  few  ought  not  and  could  not  sway  the  action  of 
governments  in  such  matters.     Then  he  said: 

"...  Only  by  harmonious  co-operation  of  agriculture 
and  industry  is  it  possible  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
the  whole  state  and  to  bring  about  progress  on  a  sound 
basis." 

On  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  big  fire  which  destroyed 
ships  and  other  valuable  property  at  the  North  German 
Lloyd  docks  in  Hoboken,  on  July  3,  1900,  the  Kaiser, 
who  happened  to  be  in  Wilhelmshaven  at  the  time, 
wired  as  follows : 

"The  disaster  which  has  befallen  the  North  German 
Lloyd  in  New  York  fills  me  with  genuine  sorrow.     The 

250 


FURTHERING    COMMERCE   AND   NAVIGATION 

great  loss  of  men  and  ships  is  a  severe  blow.  But  I  am 
firmly  convinced  that  the  tried  and  proven  manage- 
ment of  the  North  German  Lloyd  will  meet  this  trial, 
as  it  has  others  before  now,  with  steadfast  courage,  and 
that  the  employes  of  the  North  German  Lloyd  in  New 
York  will  have  been  found  in  this  sad  hour  faithful  to 
their  duty." 

The  imperial  couple  paid  Stettin  another  visit,  on 
September  7,  1900,  and  to  a  welcoming  speech  by  Chief 
Burgomaster  Hacken,  in  which  the  latter  referred  to 
the  German  participation  in  quelling  the  disturbances 
in  China,  the  Kaiser  made  answer,  saying : 

"...  You  made  mention  of  our  brothers  who  have 
gone  to  the  far  East  to  protect  our  interests  there.  I 
have  confidence  in  them,  that  they  will  succeed  in  re- 
storing there  such  orderly  and  permanent  conditions  as 
will  permit  the  German  merchant  who  lives  and  toils 
there  to  escape  harm  and  to  continue  giving  adequate 
and  profitable  attention  to  his  affairs.  ..." 

After  the  close  of  the  annual  regattas  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Elbe  River,  on  June  19,  1901,  a  dinner  was  given 
on  board  the  Hamburg-American  line  pleasure  yacht 
Victoria  Louise.  The  Kaiser  and  his  brother,  Prince 
Henry,  were  among  those  present.  The  Kaiser  replied 
to  an  address  by  Dr.  Monckeberg,  the  burgomaster  of 
Hamburg,  in  this  wise: 

"...  My  chief  care  for  the  future  will  be  that 
those  things  for  which  we  have  lately  intrusted  the 
seed  to  a  kindly  soil  shall  be  allowed  to  sprout  and 
grow  in  quiet  security.  We  have  obtained  for  our- 
selves a  warm  place  in  the  sunlight,  despite  the  fact 
that  our  navy  is   not   yet  what  it  ought  to  be.     It 

251 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

will  be  my  task  to  see  that  this  place  in  the  sunlight 
remains  to  us,  safely  and  undisputed,  so  that  the  warm 
rays  of  the  sun  may  bring  forth  fruit  in  commerce  and 
shipping,  in  industry  and  agriculture.  Our  future  lies 
on  the  water.  The  more  Germans  venture  out  upon 
the  water,  be  it  in  competing  with  others  in  aquatic 
sports,  be  it  in  undertaking  distant  journeys  on  the 
ocean,  or  in  the  service  of  our  navy,  the  better  for  us. 
For  once  the  German  will  have  learned  to  direct  his 
gaze  afar,  to  aim  at  great  things;  he  will  lose  that 
spirit  of  smallness  which  still  clings  to  him  in  his  con- 
duct of  every-day  life.  And  to  gain  such  a  free  and 
high  vision,  there  is  no  better  place  than  one  of  our 
Hansa  towns.  .  .  .  We  must  again  begin  at  the  point 
where  in  former  days  the  Hansa  had  to  leave  off,  be- 
cause it  lacked  the  vivifying  and  protecting  strength 
of  the  empire.  May  it,  therefore,  be  the  aim  and  task 
of  my  house  to  give  you,  for  many  years  to  come,  deep 
peace,  thus  promoting  the  manifold  affairs  of  business. 
I  consider  that  the  events  which  have  lately  occurred 
in  China,  and  which  at  present  find  a  satisfactory  con- 
clusion in  the  return  of  our  troops,  vouchsafe  us  peace 
for  many  years  to  come.  For  the  achievements  there 
of  the  different  contingents  have  called  forth  mutual 
respect  and  a  feeling  of  comradeship,  and  this  can  only 
be  conducive  to  the  preservation  of  peace.  And  in 
this  peace,  I  trust,  our  Hansa  towns  will  flourish,  and 
our  new  Hansa  will  trace  new  courses,  and  will  find 
new  fields  of  consumption  for  our  goods.  As  head  of 
the  empire,  I  rejoice  at  the  departure  of  each  new 
Hanseate,  be  he  Hamburger,  Bremer,  or  Lubecker, 
who  goes  out  to  foreign  parts,  looking  with  his  keen, 
unbiased  eye  for  new  points  where  we  may  hammer 
in  a  nail  on  which  to  hang  our  armor.   ..." 

When  the  Kaiser  learned,  on  July  19,  1901,  that  the 

252 


FURTHERING    COMMERCE   AND   NAVIGATION 

new  Hamburg  -  American  liner,  the  Deutschland,  had 
broken  the  world's  ocean  record,  having  made  her 
last  trip  from  New  York  to  Plymouth  at  an  aver- 
age rate  of  23.51  knots  (against  23.28  knots  per  hour 
thus  far  shown  by  the  swiftest  vessel),  he  wired  to 
the  management  of  the  successful  company  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  Bravo,  Deutsch  and!  This  is  a  score  which  no  other 
vessel  in  the  world  has  yet  achieved.  Honor  to  the 
constructors  —  the  tried  and  approved  Vulcan  Yard, 
and  honor,  too,  to  the  commander  and  men  of  the 
vessel!  I  am  glad  that  the  ship's  name  is  Deutsch- 
land." 

On  September  14,  1901,  the  Kaiser  had  a  meeting  with 
Czar  Nicholas  II.  in  Danzig.  He  was  welcomed  in  that 
fine  old  town  by  its  chief  burgomaster,  Delbriick.  The 
latter  rendered  thanks  for  the  constant  interest  shown 
Danzig  by  the  monarch,  saying  the  city  walls,  which 
had  stood  as  an  impediment  to  growth,  had  been  re- 
moved, and  new  harbor  enlargements  were  being  con- 
structed, and  the  whole  town  was  on  the  high-road  to 
unprecedented  prosperity.  The  Kaiser  replied  at  some 
length,  saying: 

"  I  am  just  back  from  a  momentous  meeting  with  my 
friend,  the  Czar  of  Russia,  a  meeting  which  turned  out 
to  our  entire  mutual  satisfaction,  and  which  once  more 
has  confirmed  me  in  the  belief  that  European  peace 
will  be  vouchsafed  the  nations  for  many  years  to  come. 
This  fact  relieves  my  heart  greatly.  .  .  .  You  will 
notice  upon  me  the  tokens  of  mourning.  One  of  the 
last  conversations  I  had  last  summer  with  my  mother, 
who  was  even  then  in  the  grasp  of  a  relentless  malady, 
concerned  the  development  of  this  city  of  Danzig.  .  .  . 

253 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

My  late  mother  then  expressed  to  me  the  hope  that 
the  people  of  Danzig  would  not  forget  their  glorious 
past,  and  that  they  would,  above  all,  cherish  and  re- 
tain the  heirloom  of  their  forefathers — the  beautiful 
architectural  style  of  this  ancient  town.  .  .  .  You  may 
be  sure  that  my  interest  for  the  improvement  and  de- 
velopment of  Danzig  will  ever  remain  the  same,  and 
you  know  me  long  enough  to  feel  certain  that  whatever 
I  have  made  my  mind  up  to,  that  I  accomplish,  sooner 
or  later.  ..." 

Together  with  his  consort,  the  Kaiser  paid  a  visit 
to  the  Rhine  city,  Crefeld,  centre  of  the  German 
velvet  and  silk  industry.  After  viewing  the  town 
and  being  welcomed  in  a  speech  by  its  chief  burgo- 
master, Ktiper,  he  made  reply,  saying,  among  other 
things : 

"...  Our  German  army  stands  forever  ready  to 
protect  and  defend  our  country,  and  respect  and  con- 
fidence meet  it  on  every  side.  But  you,  living  in  a 
commercial  city,  will  understand  that  another  thing 
is  needed  besides  our  army  —  and  that  is  the  navy. 
You  have  experienced  it  in  the  course  of  its  develop- 
ment, how  it  is  that  when  our  flag  is  unfurled  on 
foreign  shores,  when  our  iron-clads  show  themselves, 
a  feeling  of  respect  quickly  awakens  in  the  bosoms  of 
those  populations.1  For  you  a  strong,  powerful  navy 
is  a  necessity,  a  navy  able  to  protect  peaceful  trade 
and  shipping,  so  that  you  can  sell  your  products 
everywhere.  Indeed,  I  believe  I  have  done  the  best 
and  most  needful  for  you  and  for  all  other  cities 
cultivating  industry  and  commerce,  when  I  exerted 
myself  to  the  utmost  in  developing  our  sea-power.     I 

1  The  Kaiser  here  hinted  at  I  fling  punitive  mission  of  Ger- 
events  in  China  and  at  the  tri-  |  man  vessels  in  Hayti. — Ed. 

254 


FURTHERING    COMMERCE  AND   NAVIGATION 

am  of  opinion  that  every  new  man-of-war  that  is 
launched  from  our  yards  to  increase  our  navy  is  an 
additional  guarantee  for  the  security  and  peace  with 
which  you  can  pursue  your  various  avocations  and 
reap  the  fruits  of  your  labors.  ..." 


XVI 

THE  KAISER  AND  THE  TROUBLES  IN  CHINA 

His  remarkable  addresses  to  his  parting  troops — ' '  I  will  not  rest 
until  the  German  flag  flies  above  the  walls  of  Peking" — 
A  cablegram  from  the  German  merchants  of  Shanghai — 
"Spare  nobody,  make  no  prisoners" — "This  may  be  the 
beginning  of  a  war  between  Occident  and  Orient" — The 
Kaiser's  contradictory  estimates  of  Chinese  character — 
Censuring  Admiral  Seymour's  strategy — His  pompous  fare- 
well to  Field-marshal  Waldersee — Reply  to  Prince  Chun. 

The  Kaiser's  oratorical  gifts  were  brought  into  full 
play  during  the  time  of  the  Boxer  rebellion  and  the  sub- 
sequent troubles  in  China.  But  even  his  best  friends 
in  Germany  admit  that  he  did  so  "not  wisely,  but  too 
well."  In  fact,  his  arrogant  and  self -glorifying  utter- 
ances during  that  whole  period,  revealing  too  plainly 
one  of  the  unloveliest  phases  of  his  strangely  complex 
character,  and  his  unmeasured  threats  and  uncontrolled 
fits  of  anger,  caused  a  general  irritation  throughout  the 
civilized  world,  shared  even  by  millions  of  his  own  sub- 
jects, which  could  not  fail  to  react  against  the  country 
he  represented,  creating  a  prejudice  even  against  Ger- 
many's legitimate  claims  for  reparation,  and  thus  seri- 
ously injuring  the  very  cause  the  Kaiser  professed  to 
have — and  doubtless  had — so  much  at  heart. 

One  of  the  utterances  made  by  him  at  this  time, 
fiercely  instructing  his  departing  soldiers  to  "spare  no 
enemy  and  to  take  no  prisoners,"  particularly  occa- 
sioned the  widest  indignation  in  all  civilized  countries. 

256 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  TROUBLES   IN  CHINA 

There  is  only  one  excuse — not  justification — for  the 
Kaiser:  his  impulsive  temperament,  hurrying  him  on 
to  remarks  which  in  calmer  mood  he  would  have 
avoided. 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  May,  1900,  that  news 
reached  the  West  of  the  precarious  situation  of  the  for- 
eign residents  in  China,  and  especially  in  Peking.  But 
nobody  in  Germany,  or  elsewhere,  had  as  yet  an  ade- 
quate conception  of  the  real  magnitude  and  imminency 
of  the  danger.  Then  arrived  suddenly  very  alarming 
news — of  the  assassination  of  the  German  minister  in 
Peking,  Baron  von  Ketteler,  and  of  the  massacre  of  all 
the  Europeans  and  Americans  there,  and  a  cry  of  hor- 
ror went  up  all  over  the  world.  The  Kaiser  was  com- 
pletely under  the  domination  of  this  news,  which,  as 
subsequently  ascertained,  had  been  grossly  exagger- 
ated. It  may  be  well  to  say  that  up  to  that  time  the 
Kaiser's  informants  as  to  China  and  its  affairs  had  been 
in  the  main  these  three — viz.,  Ketteler,  his  minister  in 
Peking;  Von  Brand,  his  former  minister  there;  and 
Bishop  Anzer,  chief  of  the  German  Catholic  missions  in 
China.  Not  one  of  these  three  had  anticipated  any 
such  general  or  dangerous  outbreak  as  the  one  which 
the  allied  powers  had  soon  after  to  cope  with.  Ketteler, 
especially,  had  totally  underrated  the  Boxer  movement 
and  the  intensity  of  Chinese  feeling  against  foreigners 
in  general,  and  more  especially  against  the  Germans, 
largely  because  of  the  unceremonious  seizure  of  Kiao- 
chou,  an  unbloody  feat  of  arms  which  nobody  had 
lauded  as  much  as  precisely  the  Kaiser.  The  latter's 
lack  of  correct  and  detailed  information  regarding  Chi- 
nese matters,  and,  more  especially,  Chinese  character, 
betrayed  itself  painfully  throughout  the  whole  dura- 
tion of  the  troubles  there,  and  some  of  his  self -contra- 
dictory assertions  and  astounding  boasts  were  directly 
traceable  to  this  ignorance  on  his  part. 
17  257 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

On  July  2,  1900,  the  Kaiser,  after  inspecting  in  Wil- 
helmshaven  a  battalion  of  marines  about  to  depart  for 
China,  made  them  a  farewell  address,  saying : 

"The  torch  of  war  has  been  flung  into  the  midst  of 
deepest  peace,  though  not  unexpected  by  me.  A  crime 
unparalleled  in  its  insolence,  hateful  in  its  cruelty,  has 
been  perpetrated  upen  my  tried  and  trusted  repre- 
sentative, and  has  hurried  him  to  his  grave.  The  min- 
isters of  other  powers  tremble  in  hourly  danger  of  their 
lives,  and  with  them  the  comrades  sent  out  for  their 
protection  ;  perhaps  by  now  they  have  fought  their 
last. 

"The  German  flag  has  been  outraged,  and  the  Ger- 
man Empire  has  been  insulted.  That  demands  exem- 
plary reparation  and  vengeance. 

"  The  situation  has  been  changed  with  awful  rapidity, 
and  is  now  most  critical  and  serious.  Since  I  called  you 
to  arms  it  has  become  worse.  I  was  at  first  in  hopes  to 
be  able  to  repair  things  with  the  aid  of  my  marine  in- 
fantry. That  is  now  impossible.  The  task  has  as- 
sumed greater  proportions,  and  to  grapple  successfully 
with  it  organized  bodies  of  troops  of  all  the  civilized 
countries  must  be  used.  To-day  the  commander  of 
my  squadron  of  cruisers  has  asked  me  to  send  a  whole 
division. 

"You  will  face  an  enemy  who  defies  death  no  less 
than  you  do.  Trained  by  European  officers,  the  Chi- 
nese have  learned  how  to  fight  with  European  weapons. 
God  be  praised  for  the  fact  that  your  comrades  of  the 
marine  infantry  and  my  navy  have  maintained  the  old 
German  reputation  for  valor  wherever  they  have  met 
the  enemy.  They  have  defended  themselves  with 
glory,  achieving  victory. 

"Thus  I  send  you  out  there  to  avenge  wrong  and 
enforce  reparation.     I  will  not  rest  until  the  German 

258 


THE   KAISER  AND   THE  TROUBLES  IN  CHINA 

flag1  flies  victorious  from  the  walls  of  Peking,  flies 
above  the  Chinese,  and  dictates  the  terms  of  peace  to 
the  Chinese." 

The  Kaiser  ordered  the  formation  of  an  expedition- 
ary corps,  to  be  composed  of  volunteers  from  every  part 
of  the  regular  army,  and  to  have  the  strength  of  a  Ger- 
man brigade  on  a  war  footing — i.  e.,  about  ten  thou- 
sand men.  Subsequently  this  contingent  was  doubled 
in  size. 

The  German  merchants  of  Shanghai  sent  a  cablegram 
to  the  Kaiser,  asking  him  to  despatch  a  military  and 
naval  force  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  in  the 
north  and  in  the  Yangtse  region,  and  for  the  protec- 
tion of  German  commercial  interests,  which  would  be 
"commensurate  with  Germany's  position  as  the  second 
largest  commercial  power  in  the  far  East." 

The  answer  sent  by  William  II.  was: 

"Your  wishes  will  be  fulfilled  as  far  as  possible. 
Moltke  and  Bismarck  now  on  the  way,  also  marine  in- 
fantry.    Division  iron-clads,  division  infantry  follow." 

To  the  troops  which  left  Bremerhaven  on  July  27, 
1900,  about  to  depart  for  China,  the  Kaiser  said: 

"During  thirty  years  of  peace  our  army  has  been 
drilled  and  perfected  in  accordance  with  the  precepts 
of  my  grandfather.  You,  too,  have  received  your  edu- 
cation as  soldiers  in  conformity  with  these  principles, 
and  you  are  now  about  to  be  tested  before  the  enemy — 
whether  you  have  profited  by  it.     Your  comrades  of 


'In  the  "edited"  phrasing  of 
this  speech,  as  it  subsequently 
appeared  in  the  Reichsanzeiger, 
that    passage    ran,    "Until    the 


German  flag,  united  with  those  of 
the  other  powers,"  etc.,  the  seven 
words  in  italics  having  been  in- 
terpolated.— Ed. 


259 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

the  navy  have  already  furnished  proof  that  the  prin- 
ciples governing  their  military  training  are  sound  ones, 
and  I  am  proud  of  the  praise  which  has  been  accorded 
them  by  foreign  officers  and  commanders  out  there.  It 
is  for  you  to  show  that  you  can  do  as  well.  Yours  is 
a  great  task.  You  are  to  exact  reparation  for  the  un- 
precedented wrong,  the  gross  affront,  done  us.  The 
Chinese  have  disregarded  the  law  of  nations.  They 
have  shown  scorn  for  the  sacredness  of  an  envoy,  for 
the  duties  of  hospitality,  in  a  manner  unparalleled  in 
the  world's  history.  And  this  is  the  more  reprehensi- 
ble because  these  crimes  have  been  committed  by  a 
nation  which  boasts  of  its  ancient  culture.  .  .  . 

"You  are  to  fight  against  a  cunning,  courageous, 
well-armed,  and  cruel  foe.  When  you  are  upon  him, 
know  this:  Spare  nobody,  make  no  prisoners.  Use 
your  weapons  in  a  manner  to  make  every  Chinaman 
for  a  thousand  years  to  come  forego  the  wish  to  as 
much  as  look  askance  at  a  German.  ..." 

On  August  2,  1900,  two  more  transport  ships,  the 
Adria  and  the  Rhine,  left  Bremerhaven  with  large 
bodies  of  soldiers  on  board,  destined  for  the  seat  of  war 
in  China.  The  Kaiser  on  this  occasion,  after  inspect- 
ing the  vessels  thoroughly,  called  the  corps  of  officers 
around  him  on  deck,  and  spoke  to  them  in  the  follow- 
ing strain: 

"You  are  going  on  a  grave  and  portentous  mission, 
the  end  of  which  is  not  yet  clear.  It  may  be  the  be- 
ginning of  a  great  war  between  Occident  and  Orient. 
The  whole  Occident  is  united.  For  the  common  end 
even  such  nations  have  joined  who  have  all  along  con- 
fronted one  another  as  inveterate  foes.  Every  nation 
has  there  given  proof  of  matchless  bravery,  and  it  is  for 
you,  gentlemen,  to  bring  additional  glory  to  the  Ger- 

260 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  TROUBLES   IN  CHINA 

man  name,  which  fortunate  wars  have  placed  high  in 
the  roster  of  warlike  nations.  Show  them  that  we  have 
all  this  time  worked  hard,  and  that  our  toil  in  times  of 
peace  has  not  been  in  vain.  Prove  yourselves  good 
comrades  to  all  the  troops  assembled  there,  no  matter 
what  the  color  of  their  skin.  .  .  . 

"  By  nature  the  Chinaman  is  a  cowardly  cur,  but 
he  is  tricky  and  double-faced.  Small,  detached  troops 
must  be  particularly  cautious.  The  Chinaman  likes  to 
fall  upon  an  enemy  from  an  ambush,  or  during  the 
night-time,  or  with  vast  superiority  in  numbers.  Re- 
cently the  enemy  has  fought  bravely,  a  fact  which  has 
not  yet  been  sufficiently  explained.  Perhaps  these 
were  his  best  troops,  those  drilled  by  German  and  other 
officers. 

"Above  all,  gentlemen,  prove  to  the  Chinese  that 
there  is  at  least  one  power  which,  irrespective  of  remoter 
considerations  of  a  practical  nature,  means  to  punish 
them  for  wrongs  inflicted.  Make  war  until  the  aim  I 
have  designated  be  attained,  until  complete  atonement 
has  been  enforced.  ..." 

Another  speech  was  made  by  the  Kaiser  on  August  1 4, 
1900,  likewise  to  the  assembled  officers  of  a  large  body 
of  troops  departing  on  board  of  several  steamers  leav- 
ing Bremerhaven  for  the  seat  of  war.     In  it  he  said : 

"You  are  facing  a  serious  situation.  Contrary  to 
my  intentions,  affairs  in  China  are  becoming  graver 
every  day.  With  my  drawing,  '  Nations  of  Europe, 
Safeguard  Your  Most  Cherished  Possessions,'  I  meant 
to  give,  four  years  ago,  a  hint  to  the  other  sovereigns. 
But  my  warnings  were  not  heeded.  The  situation  to- 
day is  wholly  due  to  the  total  undervaluation  of  the 
enemy.  If  the  ministers  had  suspected  the  fermenta- 
tion in  the  minds  of  the  Chinese,  and  had  better  appre- 

261 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

ciated  its  import,  they  would  have  sought  safety  and 
succor  with  the  troops  of  their  governments. 

"Give  no  quarter!  Do  not  rest  until  the  enemy, 
crushed  to  the  earth,  asks  pardon  on  his  bended  knees. 

"And  to  enable  you,  gentlemen,  to  answer  questions 
which  may  be  put  to  you  by  officers  of  other  powers,  I 
will  tell  you  herewith  my  political  aims :  Suppression  of 
the  rebellion,  exemplary  punishment  for  the  ringlead- 
ers, re-establishment  of  the  status  quo  ante,  and  the  firm 
seating  of  a  strong  government,  one  which  can  give  us 
the  requisite  written  guarantees  that  similar  events 
will  not  recur.  .  .  . 

"  I  should  oppose,  however,  the  dismemberment  of 
the  huge  Chinese  Empire.  I  should  oppose  this  most 
determinedly.  It  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  for  that 
would  lead  to  a  whole  net-work  of  new  and  serious 
complications.  The  Chinaman  is  accustomed  to  a  cen- 
tral government.  And  that  is  why  our  interests  and 
our  commerce  will  flourish  best  under  the  prevailing 
system.  .  .  . 

"Above  all,  I  warn  you  against  the  scattering  of 
your  forces.  Admiral  Seymour  would  have  avoided 
that  total  failure  if  he  had  not  marched  with  his  two 
thousand  men  against  a  city  of  millions,  and  if  he  had 
been  better  informed  in  other  respects.  This  is  all  the 
more  to  be  regretted  because  Seymour  participated, 
when  still  a  midshipman,  in  the  taking  of  the  Taku 
forts,  and  since  he  ought  to  have  utilized  the  experi- 
ence then  gained,  forty  years  before,  in  judging  the  sit- 
uation of  to-day.  .  .  . 

"  In  your  intercourse  with  the  officers  of  other 
nations  all  political  feeling  must,  of  course,  be  disre- 
garded. Whether  Englishman  or  Russian,  Frenchman 
or  Japanese,  we  are  all  fighting  the  same  enemy  for 
the  maintenance  of  civilization;  in  our  case,  too,  the 
maintenance  of  religion. 

262 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  TROUBLES  IN  CHINA 

"  Do  honor  to  the  German  name,  to  the  flag,  and — do 
not  forget  it — to  me." 

The  Kaiser  received  Count  Waldersee,  the  newly 
appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  allied  forces  in 
China,  and  his  suite,  on  August  18,  1900.  The  meeting 
took  place  in  Cassel,  in  Chateau  Wilhelmshohe,  and 
the  Kaiser  had  taken  pains  to  make  the  farewell 
audience  as  effective  and  theatrical  as  possible.  He 
presented  Waldersee  with  a  diamond -incrusted  field- 
marshal's  baton,  after  appointing  him  to  that  military- 
rank  a  couple  of  days  previous.  His  farewell  speech, 
too,  was  somewhat  bombastic.    He  said,  in  part,  to  him : 

"  I  greet  you  at  the  moment  of  your  leaving  the  fa- 
therland, and  congratulate  you  on  having  been  chosen, 
my  dear  Waldersee,  as  the  leader  of  the  united  troops 
of  the  civilized  world.  It  is  of  great  significance  that 
your  appointment  to  this  exalted  office  has  been  due, 
in  the  first  place,  to  a  suggestion  and  expressed  desire 
of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,1  the 
mighty  potentate  whose  power  is  fett  for  vast  distances, 
far  into  the  interior  of  Asia.  This  is  another  proof 
of  the  closely  connected  army  traditions  of  the  two 
empires,  and  I  recognize  the  fact  with  joy  that  on  the 
strength  of  this  suggestion  on  the  part  of  his  Majesty 
the  entire  civilized  world  has,  without  exception,  in- 
trusted, of  its  own  free  will,  the  chief  command  over 
their  troops  to  your  Excellency. 

"As  Prussian  officers  we  can  feel  grateful  and  proud 
because  of  the  great  task  now  confided  to  your  hands. 
For  it  includes  a  general  recognition  of  the  excellence 


1  Curiously  enough,  this  bald 
assertion  by  the  Kaiser,  subse- 
quently reiterated  on  various  oc- 
casions, was  disputed  not  alone 


by  the  entire  Russian  press,  even 
the  official  sheets,  but,  by  in- 
nuendo, by  Nicholas  II.  him- 
self.—Ed. 


263 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

of  our  whole  military  life  and  work,  as  well  as  of  our 
military  system  and  of  the  training  and  the  capacity 
of  our  generals  and  officers. 

"In  the  interest  of  the  allied  nations  I  may  express 
the  hope  that  our  joint  expedition  may  result  in  safe- 
guarding mutual  appreciation  and  mutual  peaceable- 
ness  for  the  powers  of  Europe,  as  his  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  endeavored  to  promote  the  same 
aims  last  year  upon  another  field  of  activity.  What, 
however,  we  were  unable  to  attain  in  peace,  we  may, 
perhaps,  now  attain  by  the  use  of  arms." 

The  departure  of  Waldersee  was  on  a  par  with  this 
specimen  of  grandiloquence.  The  whole  journey  of 
himself  and  his  staff  from  Berlin  to  Genoa  resembled 
the  triumphal  march  of  a  conquering  hero.  One  of 
his  aides,  a  nephew  of  the  marshal,  issued  hourly  bul- 
letins of  his  uncle's  progress  from  the  car  window  to 
the  press.  Even  a  large  portion  of  the  German  press 
rebelled  against  this  vaingloriousness. 

The  final  tableau  of  the  whole  business  unfolded 
itself,  a  year  later,  in  Potsdam.  On  September  4,  1901, 
Prince  Chun,  brother  to  the  nominal  Emperor  of  China, 
was  received  in  special  audience  by  the  Kaiser  in  the 
New  Palace.  This  Chinese  prince  was  there  to  carry 
out  a  special  mission  of  atonement  for  the  murder  of 
Baron  von  Ketteler,  the  German  minister  at  Peking. 
In  the  pursuance  of  this  task  he  addressed  the  head 
of  the  affronted  nation  in  the  following  fashion : 

"  By  order  of  the  great  Emperor,  my  most  gracious  lord  and 
master,  I  have  the  honor  to  present  his  most  honored  letter  to 
your  Majesty. 

"At  the  expiration  of  the  rebellious  movements  in  China 
last  year,  the  imperial  court,  no  less  of  its  own  accord  than  at 
the  urgent  request  of  the  powers,  felt  the  obligation  to  ex- 
press, by  sending  a  special  mission  to  Germany,  to  your  Maj- 
esty sincere  regrets  at  the  various  happenings,  more  especially 

264 


THE  KAISER  AND  THE  TROUBLES  IN  CHINA 

at  the  one  whose  victim  was  your  Majesty's  excellent  minister, 
Baron  von  Ketteler. 

"To  show  beyond  question  the  sincerity  of  this  regret,  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor  selected  me,  as  his  next  of  kin,  for  this 
mission. 

"  I  am  in  condition  to  assure  your  Majesty  that  the  Emperor, 
my  most  gracious  lord,  was,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word, 
in  nowise  implicated  in  these  troubles,  which  brought  great 
disaster  to  China  and  losses  and  sorrows  to  Germany. 

"Notwithstanding  this,  and  abiding  by  a  custom  which  has 
been  adhered  to  for  thousands  of  years,  the  Emperor  of  China 
has  taken  the  guilt  upon  his  own  sacred  person. 

"I  am  commissioned,  therefore,  to  express,  in  handing  this 
letter  to  your  Majesty,  the  most  sympathetic  sentiments  of 
the  Emperor,  my  august  master,  for  the  person  of  your  Maj- 
esty. I  am  to  be  the  interpreter  as  well  of  these  sentiments 
towards  her  Majesty  the  Empress,  and  towards  the  whole  im- 
perial family  on  the  part  of  the  great  Emperor  of  China,  and  to 
express  the  wish  that  the  house  of  your  Majesty  may  flourish, 
and  that  health,  happiness,  and  blessings  may  be  bountiful 
within  it. 

"His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China  hopes  that  the  events 
of  last  year  may  have  been  but  a  temporary  disturbance  of 
former  relations,  and  that  now,  since  clouds  have  been  super- 
seded by  the  sunlight  of  peace,  the  nations  of  Germany  and 
China  will  learn  mutually  to  know  and  appreciate  each  other. 
That  is  also  my  own  sincere  desire." 

The  Kaiser,  remaining  seated  on  his  throne,  replied 
to  this  speech  in  slow,  measured  accents,  and  in  a 
grave  and  almost  forbidding  manner,  as  follows : 

"It  is  not  a  gay,  festive  occasion,  nor  the  fulfilment 
of  a  simple  duty  of  politeness,  which  has  led  your 
Imperial  Highness  to  my  throne,  but  a  very  sad  and 
serious  event.  My  minister  at  the  court  of  his  Majes- 
ty the  Emperor  of  China,  Baron  von  Ketteler,  fell  a 
victim  to  the  murderous  weapon  of  an  imperial  Chinese 
soldier,  who  executed  an  order  of  his  superiors.  This 
is  an  unheard-of  crime,  branded  alike  by  the  law  of 
nations  and  by  the  customs  of  all  nations. 

265 


THE  KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

"  From  the  mouth  of  your  Imperial  Highness  I  have 
just  now  heard  the  expression  of  the  sincere  and  deep 
regret  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China.  I  willing- 
ly believe  that  the  imperial  brother  of  your  Imperial 
Highness  was  no  partner  to  this  crime  and  to  the 
subsequent  outrages  to  which  inviolate  ministers  and 
peaceable  foreigners  were  subjected.  All  the  greater 
the  burden  of  guilt  which  lies  on  his  counsellors  and 
his  government. 

"They  must  not  delude  themselves  into  the  belief 
that  atonement  and  forgiveness  for  their  crimes  will 
be  theirs  solely  on  the  strength  of  this  mission  of 
expiation  and  penitence;  their  whole  subsequent  con- 
duct, if  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  nations  and 
with  the  customs  of  civilized  peoples,  can  alone  ac- 
complish that. 

"Only  if  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China  hence- 
forth conducts  the  government  of  his  great  empire  in 
strict  conformity  with  the  spirit  of  these  mandates 
will  his  hope  be  fulfilled  that  the  sad  consequences  of 
the  disturbances  of  the  last  year  will  be  overcome,  and 
that  permanently  friendly  and  peaceable  relations,  as 
they  obtained  formerly,  will  be  re-established  between 
Germany  and  China,  relations  which  will  bear  blessings 
for  both  nations  and  for  the  entire  human  civilization. 

"In  the  earnest  and  sincere  hope  that  these  things 
will  come  to  pass,  I  bid  your  Imperial  Highness  wel- 
come." 


THE  KAISER  IN   MORE   INTIMATE 
CIRCLES 


XVII 

THE  KAISER'S  IDEAL 

Among  his  ancestors  it  is  the  "Great  Elector"  of  Branden- 
burg whom  he  specially  admires  and  by  whom  he  takes  pat- 
tern— Drawing  a  parallel  between  that  ruler  and  himself — 
Dedicating  a  monument  at  Kiel  to  him. 

We  have  the  Kaiser's  own  word  for  it  that  it  is  not 
so  much  Frederick  William  I.  of  Prussia,  Frederick  the 
Great,  or  even  his  idolized  grandfather,  the  old  Em- 
peror, whom  he  takes  as  a  model  and  ideal  for  his  life, 
as  it  is  that  earlier,  and,  to  the  general  world,  less- 
known  figure  in  German  history,  Frederick  William, 
the  "  Great  Elector"  of  Brandenburg.  He  has  declared 
this  to  be  the  case  in  a  number  of  public  speeches  and 
private  conversations,  and  on  looking  closer  at  the  his- 
torical facts  there  seems,  indeed,  to  be  a  rational  ex- 
planation for  his  predilection. 

Despite  Carlyle's  hero-worshipping  book  on  Frederick 
the  Great,  and  despite  the  fact  that  the  great  Fred- 
erick's glory  fills,  to  the  superficial  eye,  the  most  glow- 
ing pages  of  Prussia's  comparatively  short  history, 
there  are  many  reasons  which  forbid  the  youngest 
scion  of  the  Hohenzollern  race  to  worship  at  this  shrine 
without  mental  reserve ;  above  all,  that  monarch's  cyn- 
icism and  atheism,  and,  next  to  that,  his  cosmopoli- 
tan spirit,  which  made  Voltaire  and  a  number  of  other 
brilliant  Frenchmen  his  intimate  friends,  and  the  En- 
cyclopaedist school  of  literature  and  enlightenment  his 
intellectual   boon   companions.     The   present   Kaiser, 

269 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

indeed,  heartily  admires  the  dauntless,  unconquerable 
soldier  and  the  man  of  subtle,  resourceful  mind  in  "  Old 
Fritz" — as  that  great  monarch  is  still  popularly  called 
throughout  Germany ;  but  he  even  more  cordially  dis- 
likes the  other  characteristics  of  the  man.  A  couple 
of  years  ago  the  Kaiser  took  along  for  leisurely  perusal 
on  his  midsummer  trip  to  the  Scandinavian  seas  those 
volumes  containing,  in  the  original  French,1  Frederick 
the  Great's  correspondence.  But  after  scanning  the 
contents  for  a  space  he  cast  the  books  aside,  remark- 
ing, wrathfully,  "  What  an  old  heathen  he  was!"  That 
accurately  enough  describes  his  descendant's  attitude 
towards  his  great  sire. 

His  father,  viewed  by  him  for  many  years  at  close 
range,  was  too  liberal  in  political  thought  for  the 
present  Kaiser's  taste.  That  was  one  insuperable  ob- 
jection he  had  against  him.  His  grandfather,  though 
both  his  personal  traits  and  his  achievements,  as  well 
as  his  political  principles  and  aims,  appeal  very  strong- 
ly to  William  II.,  and  though  the  tender  regard  and 
high  respect  he  cherishes  for  that  noble  and  simple 
character  crop  out  continually,  is  nevertheless  not  his 
ideal.  William  I.  was  too  modest  and  unassuming  for 
his  grandson's  taste,  and  in  his  heart  of  hearts  he  can- 
not forgive  the  old  gentleman  of  having  played — as 
William  I.  undoubtedly  did — second  fiddle  to  Bismarck, 
his  chancellor  and  "  majordomus."  Frederick  William 
I.,  again,  the  first  of  the  Prussian  soldier -kings,  was 
autocratic  and  energetic  and  shrewd  enough  to  suit 
even  William  II.,  but  he  was  too  narrow-minded  and 
headstrong,  too  rigid  and  unbending — above  all,  too 
small  a  man   intellectually  to  be  considered  by  his 


'It  is  well  known  that  Fred- 
erick the  Great  received  almost 
his  entire  education  in  French, 
and  that  he  never  during  his  life 


mastered  the  intricacies  of  Ger- 
man grammar  or  orthography. 
His  autograph  rescripts  show 
this  plainly. — Ed. 


270 


THE   KAISER'S   IDEAL 

present  descendant  of  quite  large  enough  caliber  to 
take  pattern  by.  There  is  something  of  all  these  able 
Prussian  rulers  in  the  Kaiser  of  to-day,  but  there  is 
not  enough  in  any  one  of  them  for  him  to  make  an 
ideal  of. 

With  the  "Great  Elector  "of  Brandenburg  it  is  dif- 
ferent. He  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  many  and  im- 
portant respects  the  very  prototype  of  William  II.  He 
was  the  first  really  great  ruler  of  the  Hohenzollern 
dynasty.  He  created  the  future  Prussia  during  his 
long  reign  of  forty-eight  years  (1640-88),  and,  above 
all,  he  created  both  an  army  and  a  navy,  and  welded 
the  scattered  fragments  of  his  small  states  into  a 
rather  homogeneous  entity.  In  intellect,  and  in  his 
quaint  mixture  of  good  morals  and  rugged  egotism, 
he  was  the  forerunner  of  William  II.  himself. 

At  the  sessions  of  the  Provincial  Chambers  of  Bran- 
denburg, and  at  the  annual  banquets  given  by  that 
body,  the  Kaiser  has  most  frequently  given  rein  to 
his  deep  admiration  for  the  "Great  Elector."  He  did 
so  while  still  plain  Prince  William,  and  often  since  as- 
cending the  throne.  In  one  of  his  speeches  on  such 
an  occasion  he  explicitly  stated : 

"We  all  of  us  work,  so  to  speak,  in  the  shadow  of 
the  Great  Elector,  a  man  who,  with  every  fibre  and  with 
his  whole  heart,  loved  his  homeland,  and  who  exerted 
himself  with  unceasing,  energetic  toil  for  its  benefit, 
until  he  had  developed  and  amalgamated  his  Bran- 
denburg1 into  a  firm,  coherent  whole,  allaying  the 
countless  wounds  which  an  inhuman  thirty  years'  war 
had  inflicted.     He  is  that  ancestor  of  mine  for  whom 


1  It  was  not  until  the  "Great 
Elector's"  successor,  Frederick 
I.,  had  reigned  a  number  of 
years,  in  1701,  that  the  electors 


of  Brandenburg  acquired  the  title 
and  dignity  of  kings  of  Prussia, 
the  name  coming  to  them  from  the 
province  of  East  Prussia. — Ed. 


271 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

I  have  the  greatest  admiration,  and  who  has,  since 
my  boyhood's  days,  illuminated  the  path  before  me 
as  my  model  and  ideal." 

On  December  i,  1890,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
had  elapsed  since  the  Great  Elector  commenced  his 
reign.  In  commemoration  of  the  fact,  the  Kaiser  ar- 
ranged for  and  then  attended  a  very  impressive  mil- 
itary memorial  celebration  on  that  day.  It  took  place 
before  the  fine  monument  of  that  monarch,  situated 
on  the  castle  bridge,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
Kaiser's  palace  in  Berlin.  He  then  addressed  the  vast 
body  of  troops  present  on  that  occasion  as  follows : 

"Comrades!  We  commemorate  to-day  the  ascen- 
sion to  the  throne,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
of  my  sire,  the  Great  Elector.  He  it  was  who  laid 
the  foundation-stone  to  the  consolidation  of  the  Elec- 
torate of  Brandenburg,  whence  grew  first  the  kingdom 
of  Prussia,  and  lastly  the  German  Empire.  He  or- 
ganized a  new  army,  one  in  which  the  fear  of  God, 
fidelity,  unquestioning  obedience,  and  strict  discipline 
reigned  supreme.  We  Brandenburgers  know  what  he 
has  accomplished  at  the  battle  of  Fehrbellin,1  where  he 
risked  his  own  life.  But  his  achievements  on  the  field 
of  peaceful  pursuits  are  likewise  recorded  by  history." 

On  July  11,  1899,  in  a  letter  to  his  former  teacher, 
Professor  Hinzpeter,  in  Bielefeld,  the  Kaiser  apprises 
him  of  the  fact  that  he  will  present  to  that  city,  to 
be  placed  in  its  public  park,  a  reproduction  in  bronze 
of  the  fine  marble  monument  of  the  Great  Elector 
recently  erected  at  his  expense  in  the  Siegesallee  in 
Berlin.     The  letter  concludes: 

1  Where  an  invading  Swedish  army  was  defeated. — Ed. 
272 


THE   KAISER'S   IDEAL 

"...  This  is  to  be  a  token  of  grateful  remembrance 
for  the  splendid  reception  your  city  recently  accorded 
me,  and  also  a  memento  to  myself,  urging  me  on,  with 
a  will  as  iron  as  my  great  ancestor's,  in  the  path  which 
I  have  recognized  as  the  right  one,  uninfluenced  by 
opposition  of  every  kind." 

During  the  following  year,  on  August  6th,  this  mon- 
ument was  unveiled  in  Bielefeld  by  the  Kaiser,  who 
made  a  speech  of  considerable  length,  saying,  in  part : 

"...  All  the  Great  Elector's  acts  present  a  har- 
monious whole,  sprung  from  his  hope  of  founding  a 
great,  powerful  Northern  state,  one  which  in  time  to 
come  was  to  reunite  once  more  the  entire  German 
fatherland. 

"  But  world  powers  do  not  grow  as  quickly  as  that. 
However,  the  foundation-stone  he  did  lay,  and  the 
mighty  hammer-strokes  he  gave  created  for  me  a  firm 
basis.  .  .  .  How  different,  though,  things  are  to-day! 
From  the  small  but  well-knit  state  he  founded  the 
kingdom  of  Prussia  grew,  and  Prussia  again  it  was 
which  welded  the  German  Empire  together.  The  great 
Kaiser,  great  scion  of  great  sire,  was  permitted  to  carry 
out  what  the  other  had  dreamed  of.  In  thus  casting 
a  brief  glance  backward  upon  the  history  of  our  coun- 
try, the  query  naturally  arises,  What  were  the  causes 
which  made  it  possible  for  our  House  of  Hohenzollern 
to  achieve  such  grand  results?  Only  this,  that  each 
and  every  Hohenzollern  ruler  knew  from  the  first  that 
he  was  but  the  representative  here  below  of  a  Higher 
One,  that  he  was  to  give  an  account  one  day  of  his  acts 
and  his  achievements  to  a  more  potent  King  and 
Master,  that  he  must  be  a  faithful  steward  and  comply 
with  the  behests  of  a  most  high  Employer.  Thence, 
too,  the  rocklike  conviction  of  his  mission,  which  in- 
xs  273 


THE    KAISER'S    SPEECHES 

spired  every  single  one  of  my  forefathers.  Thence  the 
unbending  will  power  which  enabled  them  to  carry 
through  what  they  had  once  set  themselves  to  do. 

"  May  it  be  vouchsafed  me  to  tread  in  the  same  paths 
which  this  great  ancestor  has  marked  out  for  me,  and 
this  not  alone  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole  empire, 
but  also  for  that  of  this  beautiful  little  land  here. 
Perhaps  it  may  be  given  to  me  to  realize  that  portion 
of  his  dream  which  in  the  later  struggles  for  our 
existence  and  development  had  to  be  postponed — 
the  way  to  the  sea!  That  which  the  Great  Elector 
was  able  to  outline  and  foreshadow  merely,  we  now 
may  resume  on  a  large  scale,  because  we  now  have  a 
united,  a  great  German  fatherland." 

The  Kaiser  then  touched  on  recent  events — viz.,  the 
troubles  in  China,  and  that  German  troops  were  at  that 
moment  spilling  their  blood  to  obtain  reparation  and 
to  restore  order  there.     Then  he  continued : 

"...  They  will  demonstrate  that  the  arm  of  the 
German  Emperor  reaches  to  the  furthermost  ends  of 
the  world.  All  this  would  have  been  impossible  had  it 
not  been  for  the  Great  Elector  and  his  work,  and 
therefore  I  hope  that  every  one  of  my  subjects  will  be 
inspired  by  the  same  spirit  as  he,  and  that  he  will  toil 
on  towards  the  attainment  of  his  goal,  and  to  help  me 
in  attaining  mine.  To  each  one  of  us  an  aim  and  a 
task  have  been  set,  and  if  every  one  understands  this  as 
well  as  the  Great  Elector  and  all  others  of  my  house 
did,  knowing  his  responsibility  and  that  he  must  give 
an  account  above  of  what  he  has  accomplished,  I  am 
very  certain  that  great  times  are  still  ahead  for  our 
German  fatherland !  ..." 

On  June  20,  1901,  a  monument  to  the  Great  Elector 

274 


THE   KAISER'S   IDEAL 

was  also  unveiled  in  Kiel,  the  particular  site  of  it 
being  the  park  in  front  of  the  naval  academy.  The 
occasion  was  one  for  considerable  display  and  pageant, 
the  imperial  couple  as  well  as  Prince  Henry,  the  Kaiser's 
brother,  also  Prince  Adalbert,  one  of  the  Kaiser's  sons, 
and  a  brilliant  suite  being  present.  The  war  vessels 
in  the  harbor  boomed  a  salute  during  the  ceremony. 
The  Kaiser  made  a  speech  in  which  he  drew  a  parallel 
between  himself  and  the  Great  Elector.  Referring 
to  the  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  his  proto- 
type had  assumed  the  reins  of  government,  and  which 
greatly  resembled  those  pertaining  to  his  own  succes- 
sion, he  remarked: 

"Truly,  it  was  not  an  enviable  mnentance,  one 
which  would  have  taxed  to  the  full  the  capacities  of 
a  matured,  experienced  man,  knowing  every  detail  of 
government  machinery,  and  even  for  such  a  man  the 
task  would  have  been  almost  too  hard  a  one.  But 
fearlessly  this  young  man  approached  his  task,  and  with 
wonderful  skill  he  solved  it.  With  almost  super- 
human energy,  aiming  straight  at  his  goal  and  allow- 
ing nothing  to  interfere  with  it,  he  succeeded  in  bring- 
ing his  domains  once  more  on  a  level  of  prosperity,  in 
organizing  their  powers  of  defence,  and  in  winning  such 
a  position  for  himself  that  his  contemporaries,  even  his 
foes,  gave  him,  while  yet  alive,  the  cognomen  of  '  The 
Great.'  This,  as  we  know,  is  rarely  done,  for  a  nation's 
gratitude  and  admiration  seldom  find  their  full  expres- 
sion until  after  the  death  of  no  matter  how  wise  and 
successful  a  ruler.  This  youth,  remember,  when  ar- 
rived at  maturity,  was  the  first  German  prince  who 
pointed  his  people  to  the  sea,  who  founded  the  navy 
of  Brandenburg.  It  is,  therefore,  a  debt  of  honor  our 
German  navy  of  to-day  pays  to  the  Great  Elector  in 
erecting  this  monument.   .   .   . 

275 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

"The  navy  of  Brandenburg  grew  and  prospered 
under  his  powerful  protection,  under  the  guidance  of 
those  approved  Netherlanders,  Admiral  Raule  and  his 
brother.  But  after  his  death  his  creation  pined  and 
perished.  .  .  . 

"Thus  the  Great  Elector  lived,  and  in  like  man- 
ner you  must  strive  after  him.  Domine,  fac  me  scire 
viam,  quant  ambulem1 — that  was  his  motto,  his  leading 
principle,  to  which  he  clung  through  all  vicissitudes, 
all  trials  and  reverses  which  beset  him  through  life, 
and  which  kept  up  his  courage  and  his  hope.  It  was 
the  red  thread  which  ran  through  the  strands  of  his 
strenuous  career.  Let  it  also  be  the  motto  of  the  men 
and  officers  of  my  navy!  ..." 

1  "Lord,  let  me  know  the  way,  that  I  may  tread  it!" — Ed. 


XVIII 

THE  KAISER  AND  HIS  FAMILY 

The  Kaiser's  investiture  as  a  knight  of  the  order  of  St.  John — 
The  graceful  compliment  he  paid  his  spouse  in  her  native 
province  —  "May  you  ever  rely  upon  me  and  my  protec- 
tion"—  His  faith  in  the  divine-right  dogma  —  Eulogizing 
his  father,  the  Crown-prince — Extolling  "kingship  by  God's 
grace" — Thanking  the  Reichstag  for  a  monument  to  his 
father — Welcoming  back  his  brother  Henry — The  Kaiser's 
idea  of  a  "world-historical  moment  of  the  first  magnitude" 
— His  Latin  telegram  to  Professor  Mommsen — Exhibiting 
the  imperial  insignia  to  strengthen  the  loyalty  of  his  subjects 
— His  bombastic  address  to  the  Bonn  students.    • 

There  is  no  denying  the  fact  that  William  II.  has  a 
very  strong  regard  for  and  devotion  to  family  ties  and 
family  sentiment.  So  strong,  indeed,  is  this  in  him 
that  it  explains  much  which  on  the  surface  seems  al- 
most inexplicable.  There  may  be  a  dash  of  cunning 
method  in  his  incessant  and  often  extravagant  en- 
comiums of  his  grandfather,  father,  and  almost  every 
member,  dead  or  living,  of  the  House  of  Hohenzollern, 
for  he  is  shrewd  enough  to  perceive  that  perpetual 
iteration  as  to  the  exalted  virtues  and  the  matchless 
merits  of  these  excellent  personages  will  in  the  end 
convince  all  Germany  of  the  truth  of  his  claims  and 
make  the  nation  as  a  whole  accept  his  own  estimate 
as  the  correct  one.  Such,  in  fact,  is  probably  the  case, 
and  it  is  a  most  striking  proof  of  the  enormous  force 
of  repetition  and  suggestion.  But,  for  all  that,  the 
substratum  in  the  Kaiser's  mind  is  doubtless  genuine 

277 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

enough.  He  actually  believes  his  sires  and  ancestors 
to  be  such  paragons  of  ability  and  manly  virtue  as  he 
proclaims  them  to  a  wondering  world — even  where  im- 
partial history  accords  them  no  such  high  place  on  the 
scroll  of  fame.  Indeed,  hateful  editors  and  contrib- 
utors to  the  German  opposition  press  have  frequently 
enough  convicted  the  Kaiser  of  outraging  historical 
truth  in  his  fulsome  praise  of  this  or  the  other  of  his 
predecessors  on  the  throne.  But  such  critical  notices 
were  swept  on  and  drowned  in  the  mighty  torrent  of 
imperial  eloquence,  and  on  the  vast  majority  of  the 
German  people  of  to-day  the  ceaseless  laudations  of 
nearly  every  Prussian  ruler  which  the  present  Kaiser 
has  been  indulging  in  for  fifteen  consecutive  years  has 
had  the  inevitable  effect.  They  now,  more  or  less,  be- 
lieve in  the  moral  and  intellectual  grandeur  of  each 
individual  Hohenzollern — just  as  the  Kaiser  does. 

In  his  case,  however,  this  boundless  faith  in  his  own 
kith  and  kin,  and  in  his  forebears,  is  easily  explained. 
The  versions  of  history  taught  him  by  his  books  and 
teachers  had  been  cautiously  adapted  in  usum  delphini, 
glossing  over  or  keeping  silent  about  every  unpalatable 
fact,  and  it  is  questionable,  indeed,  whether  he  learned, 
for  instance,  at  any  time  of  the  established  fact  that 
his  favorite  pattern,  the  aforementioned  Great  Elector, 
was  at  one  time  plotting  treason  against  the  Emperor, 
and  at  another  was  the  actual  ally  of  France  in  the 
latter' s  designs  upon  the  fatherland  and  its  imperial 
head.  Besides,  the  Kaiser's  natural  bent  is  in  the 
direction  of  self-glorification,  vicarious  or  otherwise. 
Certain  it  is  in  any  case  that  the  feeling  which  impels 
him  in  showering  forever  rhetorical  benison  upon  the 
graves  of  his  race  is  sincere,  though  often  ill-advised. 

On  August  23,  1888,  two  months  after  his  accession, 
the  young  Kaiser  was  received  with  imposing  cere- 
monies into  the  order  of  St.  John.     The  scene  was  the 

278 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIS   FAMILY 

i 

Sonnenburg,  and  the  lord  master  directing  the  whole 
procedure  of  solemn  investiture  was  the  young  mon- 
arch's uncle,  Prince  Albrecht  of  Prussia,  who  is  also  the 
Regent  of  Brunswick.  At  the  banquet  following  the 
ceremonies  proper,  the  Kaiser  rendered  lavish  thanks 
to  his  kinsman,  the  lord  master,  and  said,  among  other 
things : 

"...  The  great  tasks  devolving  upon  me,  especial- 
ly the  development  and  improvement  of  internal  con- 
ditions for  the  people,  are  not  to  be  solved  through 
the  efforts  of  organized  government  alone.  To  lift  my 
people  up,  morally  and  religiously,  I  need  the  assist- 
ance of  the  nation's  noblest  part — my  nobility,  and  in 
the  order  of  St.  John  I  see  united  large  numbers  from 
among  the  nobility.  I  hope  and  trust  that  I  shall 
succeed,  in  conjunction  with  the  aid  from  the  order  of 
St.  John,  in  promoting  and  increasing  the  sentiment 
of  religion  as  well  as  Christian  discipline  within  the 
people,  and  thus  to  attain  those  high  ideals  which  I 
have  put  before  my  eyes.   ..." 

The  Kaiser  attended,  on  September  7,  1890,  a  ban- 
quet given  by  the  provincial  chambers  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein  in  the  town  of  Gliicksburg,  and  on  that  oc- 
casion he  made  mention  of  his  consort,  the  Empress 
Augusta  Victoria,  after  the  following  fashion : 

"...  The  bond  uniting  me  with  this  province, 
uniting  me  with  it  in  a  particular  manner,  is  the  jewel 
shining  by  my  side — her  Majesty  the  Empress.  Sprung 
from  this  land,  the  type  of  all  the  virtues  of  a  Ger- 
manic princess,  it  is  owing  to  her  that  I  am  able  to 
fulfil  the  heavy  obligations  of  my  office  with  a  joyous 
and  tranquil  mind. 

"You  pointed  out  that  you  feel  secure  under  my 

279 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

sceptre,  and  that  you  look  into  the  future  with  con- 
fidence. That  is  also  what  I  do  when  I  can  rely  upon 
such  men  as  the  men  of  Schleswig-Holstein.  ..." 

When  the  Kaiser's  sister,  Victoria,  married,  on  No- 
vember 19,  1890,  Prince  Adolf  of  Schaumburg-Lippe,  he 
toasted  the  young  couple  at  the  wedding-feast,  saying : 

"...  May  you  ever  rely  upon  me  and  my  protection, 
and  may  you  become  worthy  members  of  my  family!" 

At  a  banquet  in  Coblentz,  given  by  the  provincial 
delegates  of  the  Rhine  district,  on  September  1,  1893, 
the  Kaiser  made  a  speech  in  which  he  dwelt  at  some 
length  on  the  long  residence  in  that  town  of  both  his 
grandfather1  and  grandmother,  saying : 

"...  With  a  deeply  moved  heart  I  speak  to  you  in 
this  spot,  so  intimately  connected  with  the  life  of  my 
departed  grandfather  and  with  the  personality  of  my 
late  grandmother.  Memories  of  a  solemn  and  touch- 
ing, of  a  beautiful  and  graceful,  nature,  are  revived. 
But  the  total  picture  which  our  eyes,  looking  back- 
ward, perceive,  is  one  showing  a  life  filled  with  bless- 
ings, an  activity  richly  fruitful  and  so  crowned  with 
success  as  happens  but  rarely  here  below.  We  feel 
the  tender  ministrations  of  that  august  lady  who  once 
dwelt  in  these  rooms,  and  we  still  trace  the  benefits 
conferred  by  the  slender  hand  of  Empress  Augusta 
upon  every  portion  of  this  province.  The  same  af- 
fection and  the  same  devotion  which  this  province  felt 
for  my  grandparents,  and  they  again  for  this  province, 


1  In  1848,  after  the  successful 
revolutionary  rising  in  Berlin 
and  all  over  Prussia,  the  present 
Kaiser's  grandfather,  William  I., 
then  intensely  unpopular,  fled  to 


England  in  disguise.  After  his 
return  he  spent  a  number  of 
years  very  unobtrusively  in 
Coblentz,  in  a  high  military 
position. — Ed. 


20O 


THE   KAISER   AND   HIS   FAMILY 

live  in  us  now  present.  It  was  permitted  me,  as  it  was 
to  my  father  before  me,  to  spend  two  glorious  years  of 
my  youth  at  the  alma  mater  in  your  midst — years  never 
to  be  forgotten.  ..." 

At  the  unveiling  of  a  monument  to  William  I.,  in 
Bremen,  on  October  18,  1893,  the  Kaiser  made  an- 
other speech,  lauding  his  grandfather,  but  also  de- 
voting some  attention  to  his  father,  in  the  following 
words : 

"...  A  more  appropriate  day  than  this  could 
hardly  have  been  chosen  for  this  ceremony  —  the 
1 8th  of  October,  the  anniversary  of  the  great  'Na- 
tions' Battle '  at  Leipzig,  on  which  the  monarchs  united 
into  a  '  Holy  Alliance  '  freed  Prussia,  Germany,  nay, 
the  whole  of  Europe,  from  the  iron  yoke  of  oppres- 
sion—  the  1 8th  of  October,  too,  the  birthday  of  the 
late  Emperor  Frederick  III. — what  a  prognosticon  for 
the  future!  In  his  breast  he  bore,  even  in  the  days 
of  his  youth,  the  knowledge  of  coming  events  and  the 
burning  desire  for  the  unity  of  the  beloved  father- 
land. And  when  at  last  the  dawn  of  the  new  German 
Empire  appeared  on  the  horizon,  he,  in  maturer  years, 
was  enabled  to  realize  the  dreams  of  his  youth.  The 
German  sword  in  his  grasp,  the  son  won,  on  the 
ensanguined  field  of  battle,  the  imperial  crown  for 
his  father.  It  was  owing  to  his  powerful  hammer- 
blows  that  the  empire's  armor  has  been  forged  so 
strongly.  ..." 

Then,  devoting  the  remainder  of  his  address  to  his 
grandfather,  the  Kaiser  said,  towards  the  close : 

"  .  .  .  .  thank  you  as  his  grandson  for  the  honor 
paid  to  him.   .   .   .  My  entire  task  will  be  to  strive  after 

281 


.THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

the  great  Kaiser,  whose  bronze  image  salutes  us  from 
yonder.  ..." 

At  the  quarter-centenary  of  the  battle  of  Worth, 
which  was  celebrated  October  18,  1895,  on  the  site 
itself,  a  monument  to  Emperor  Frederick  was  un- 
veiled. The  Kaiser  on  this  occasion  was  accompanied 
by  the  Empress  Frederick  and  a  brilliant  staff,  and 
said,  after  the  formal  dedicatory  address : 

"  With  a  heart  full  of  tender,  mournful  memories, 
my  august  mother  -is  to-day  with  us.  Her  thoughts 
fly  back  to  the  glorious  hour  when  she,  on  the  arm 
of  her  royal  consort,  heard  on  this  very  spot  and  from 
his  own  lips  the  news  of  the  first  great  victory  achieved 
by  him.  I  render  special  thanks  to  your  Majesty  for 
the  condescension  shown  in  personally  attending  here, 
on  an  occasion  when  this  grand  image  of  my  dear 
father  has  been  erected.  .  .  . 

"We  of  the  younger  generation  here  assembled 
make  a  solemn  vow,  facing  the  lineaments  of  the 
mighty  victor,  our  late  Kaiser,  to  maintain  what  he 
won  for  us,  to  safeguard  the  crown  which  he  fashioned, 
to  defend  these  Reichslande  against  whomsoever,  and 
to  see  to  it  that  they  remain  German — so  help  us  God 
and  our  good  German  sword ! 

"And  let  us  all  shout  now:  My  august  mother,  by 
whose  appearance  here  to-day  we  all  feel  honored,  her 
Majesty  the  Empress  Frederick!     Hurrah!" 

The  following  year,  on  June  18th,  another  monument 
to  the  old  Kaiser,  erected  on  the  summit  of  the  Kyff- 
hauser  mountain,  in  Thuringia,  by  the  joint  efforts  of 
the  German  veterans'  associations,  was  unveiled.  The 
Kaiser  spoke  at  some  length  in  reply  to  an  address 
by  General  von  Spitz,  the  president  of  the  national 

282 


THE   KAISER   AND   HIS   FAMILY 

council  of  these  organizations,  saying,  among  other 
things : 

" .  .  .  I  know  that  your  memories  of  the  great 
Kaiser  are  sacred  to  you  all,  and  will  be  sacred  till 
you  draw  your  last  breath,  all  of  you  who  followed 
his  victory-crowned  banners,  and  who  risked  life  and 
blood  with  him  for  the  union  of  the  beloved  father- 
land. This  monument  is  an  imperishable  token  of 
such  sentiments.   .   .  . 

"  With  particular  satisfaction  have  I  listened  to  the 
renewal  of  the  pledge  of  allegiance  from  my  old 
warriors,  with  whom,  I  know,  their  motto,  '  With  God 
for  Kaiser  and  Empire,'  is  no  hollow  verbiage.  ..." 

At  the  spot  where  the  confluence  of  the  Rhine  and 
Moselle  rivers  takes  place,  the  so-called  Deutsche 
Eck,  near  Coblentz,  a  gigantic  monument  in  honor  of 
William  I.  was  erected.  The  dedication  was  on  August 
31,  1897,  in  the  presence  of  the  imperial  couple  and  an 
enormous  concourse  of  people.  A  banquet  given  by 
the  Rhine  province  followed,  during  which  the  Kaiser 
made  one  of  his  most  flamboyant  speeches,  practically 
deifying  his  late  grandfather.  The  most  characteristic 
passage  ran  thus: 

"...  My  grandfather,  the  great  and  glorious  ruler, 
issued  from  his  residence  in  Coblentz,  and  ascended  the 
throne  as  the  chosen  instrument  of  the  Lord ;  indeed, 
he  justly  regarded  himself  as  such.  For  all  of  us,  but 
more  particularly  for  us  princes,  he  has  again  lifted  up 
on  high  an  adamant  jewel,  lifted  it  up  from  the  dust 
until  it  shone  and  glittered  with  brilliant  effulgence: 
kingship  by  divine  grace;  kingship  with  its  heavy 
duties,  its  never-ceasing,  ever-active  toils  and  labors, 
its  awful   responsibility   to   the   Creator  alone,   from 

283 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

which  no  mere  man,  no  chancellor  or  minister,  no 
popular  parliament,  no  people  can  absolve  the  ruler 
and  prince.  Conscious  of  this  responsibility,  knowing 
himself  to  be  the  Lord's  arm,  this  great  Emperor  walked 
his  way  in  deepest  humility.  He  recovered  for  us 
unity  and  the  German  Empire,  and  here  in  this  beauti- 
ful province  his  high  thoughts  were  born  and  ripened. 
To  this  province  clung  his  heart.  This  city  he  loved. 
This  city  his  consecrated  foot  trod.  With  this  province 
he  lived  and  suffered.  ..." 

In  passing,  it  may  be  well  to  remark  that  these 
hundreds  of  new  monuments,  this  constant  round  of 
fetes  and  ceremonies  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  William 
I.,  whom  his  grandson  alone  of  all  sovereigns — even  of 
all  German  sovereigns — and  he  alone  of  all  historians 
and  writers  conversant  with  the  truth,  persistently 
styles  "the  Great";  this  systematic  glorification  of  a 
man  who,  as  Bismarck  himself  said  to  the  editor — Bis- 
marck, who  knew  the  old  Emperor  better,  far  better, 
than  his  grandson  ever  did — "was  a  fine  type  of  the 
royal  gentleman,  but  a  hero,  a  great  man  —  no!" — 
this  wholesale  adulation  and  uncritical  deification  of  a 
successful  ruler  and  conqueror,  were  by  no  means  to 
the  taste  of  millions  of  Germans  themselves.  Indeed, 
it  may  be  truthfully  asserted  that  this  whole  business 
was  intensely  distasteful  to  the  vast  majority  of  the 
German  people,  and  innumerable  evidences  of  this 
appeared  while  this  "craze"  for  unadulterated  ex- 
aggeration, a  craze  lasting  for  a  number  of  years,  was 
at  its  very  height  with  the  Kaiser.  Held  closely  in 
leash  by  illiberal  press  laws  and  partisan  practices  of 
subservient  courts,  the  German  press  yet  mustered 
sufficient  courage  every  little  while  to  deprecate  this 
growing  habit  of  making  a  national  fetich  of  William  I., 
calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  if  William  I.  himself 

284 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIS   FAMILY 

were  alive  he  would  be  the  first,  in  his  genuine  and 
tactful  modesty,  to  cry  a  halt  to  this  excessive,  rabid 
enthusiasm  in  his  own  behalf.  Nevertheless,  as  point- 
ed out  above,  the  Kaiser's  tactics  have  in  the  end 
prevailed.  The  Kaiser's  constant  and  almost  uncon- 
tradicted falsification  of  historical  truth  has  led,  in 
Germany  at  least,  to  the  general  acceptance  of  a  por- 
trait of  William  I.  which  is  remote  from  the  established 
facts.  He  stands  to-day  an  immaculate  national  saint 
and  hero,  on  a  pedestal  whence  this  age  will  not  remove 
him,  a  striking  instance  in  contemporaneous  history  of 
the  enormous  power  of  reiterating  untruths,  and  one 
of  the  yet  more  striking  instances  of  the  Kaiser's 
ability  to  make  his  people  swallow  the  medicine  he 
prescribes.  As  such  an  illustration  the  facts  are  of 
vast  psychological  importance. 

The  great  national  monument  to  William  I.,  erected 
by  popular  subscription,  but  executed  entirely  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  Kaiser's  ideas  and  demands,  even 
as  to  the  choice  of  the  sculptor  and  the  rate  of  com- 
pensation paid  the  latter,  was  put  up  without  as  much 
as  a  vote  of  the  Reichstag.  But  when  it  came  to 
putting  up  a  national  monument  to  his  father,  Kaiser 
Frederick  III.,  the  financial  aid  of  the  national  parlia- 
ment was  besought  and  obtained.  On  May  7,  1898, 
the  Kaiser  gave  a  fete  to  the  Reichstag,  just  after 
adjournment  sine  die,  in  the  White  Hall  of  the  Berlin 
royal  castle.  During  the  banquet  the  monarch  made 
a  speech,  thanking  the  delegates  for  the  liberality 
shown  in  the  matter  of  this  monument,1  saying: 

"  I  feel  that  I  must  thank  you  before  you  disperse, 
not  alone  as  your  Kaiser,  but  also  as  a  son,  and  must 
also  voice  the  appreciation  of  my  imperial  widowed 

•But  this  monument  to  Fred-  I  have  elapsed,  has  not  yet  been 
erick   III.,    although   five   years  I  erected. — Ed. 

285 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

mother,  for  the  fine  gift  you  have  made  us — the  monu- 
ment to  my  late  father.  You  have  thereby  made  it 
easier  for  me  to  fulfil  my  filial  duties,  and  for  my 
mother  to  experience  the  satisfaction  of  employing  her 
artistic  qualifications  in  the  execution  of  this  beautiful 
task.  .  .  . 

"...  I  draw  my  strength  in  persevering  in  the 
road  to  reach  my  goal  from  the  same  source  whence 
my  grandfather  drew  his  own  strength  in  achieving  and 
doing,  and  my  father  his  in  conquering  and  suffering. 
I  mean  to  continue  in  this  path,  knowing  that  it  is 
the  right  one,  the  one  which  I  also  recommend  you  to 
follow,  and  the  one  which  alone  ought  to  determine 
our  human  endeavors :  A  tower  of  strength  is  our  God ! 
In  hoc  signo  vinces.  ..." 

When  Prince  Valdemar,  son  of  Prince  Henry,  en- 
tered the  German  navy,  on  March  20,  1899,  the  Kaiser 
was  in  Kiel.     He  said,  among  other  things : 

" .  .  .  It  is  a  privilege  of  the  princes  belonging  to 
the  House  of  Hohenzollern  that  they  from  their  com- 
pleted tenth  year  on  learn  how  to  serve  the  father- 
land, devoting  to  such  service  all  their  strength  and 
toil.  They  are,  for  this  purpose,  made  to  enter  the 
1st  Regiment  of  the  Guards,  a  regiment  which  has 
seen  many  a  Hohenzollern  prince  in  its  ranks.  I  hope 
that  henceforth  the  princes  of  the  House  of  Hohen- 
zollern will  devote  to  the  navy  the  same  zeal  in  its 
service,  and  I  hope  that  my  navy  will  see,  in  days  to 
come,  an  efficient,  brave,  and  chivalrous  officer  grow- 
ing up  in  this  hopeful  young  prince  here,  one  who  will 
be  distinguished,  like  his  eminent  father,  for  his  en- 
ergy, his  principles,  and  his  strong  patriotism.  ..." 

A  few  days  after  the  demise  of  the  mother  of  the 

286 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIS   FAMILY 

Empress,  the  Duchess  Frederick  of  Schleswig-Holstein, 
on  February  2,  1900,  the  Reichsanzeiger  published  the 
Kaiser's  public  acknowledgment  of  the  thousands  of 
testimonials  of  sympathy  which  had  reached  him  and 
his  spouse,  saying  that  this  death  had  plunged  his 
court  in  mourning  and  had  induced  the  annulment  of 
all  previously  announced  midwinter  festivities.  He 
then  proceeds  to  enumerate  such  tokens  of  sympathy, 
saying : 

"...  Even  in  far  -  away  continents,  wherever  pio- 
neers of  German  culture  and  civilization  have  gained  a 
foothold,  the  Germans  have  united  to  testify  to  their 
feeling  of  close  connection  with  the  home  and  to  give 
expression  to  their  joy  at  the  growing  respect  for  the 
German  name  in  foreign  parts.  I  greeted  with  partic- 
ular satisfaction  in  these  manifestations  the  full  appre- 
hension of  the  fact  that  the  German  Empire,  to  maintain 
its  eminent  position  as  a  world  power,  and  to  protect  its 
commercial  interests,  absolutely  requires  an  adequate 
navy.  I  have  accepted  the  many  assurances  of  faithful 
co-operation  in  this  great  national  enterprise,  coming 
from  such  sources,  with  hearty  satisfaction.  ..." 

A  few  days  later  Prince  Henry  returned  from  a  two 
years'  stay  in  far  Asia  as  commander  of  a  German 
naval  division  there,  and  on  the  13th  he  arrived  in 
Berlin,  where  the  Kaiser  addressed  him  in  a  welcoming 
speech  during  the  family  banquet  served  at  the  royal 
castle.     He  said: 

"...  With  all  my  heart  I  bid  you  welcome  to  our 
fatherland  and  to  our  capital.  Two  years  ago  I  sent 
you  to  carry  out  a  task  I  had  set  you  in  far  Asia, 
and  had  to  leave  it  to  God  whether  He  would  pro- 
tect you  and  grant  fruition  to  your  endeavors.     The 

287 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

jubilant  and  enthusiastic  reception  by  every  class  of 
the  population  of  my  residential  city  of  Berlin  has 
furnished  the  proof  that  our  whole  people  have  ac- 
companied you  with  their  wishes  and  sympathies  in 
the  fulfilment  of  the  duties  imposed  upon  you  and 
which  you  have  so  successfully  discharged.  But  this 
reception  has  another  and  a  deeper  meaning.  It  is 
an  unmistakable  token  for  the  thoroughness  of  convic- 
tion, which  has  meanwhile  made  headway  within  the 
nation,  how  indispensable  to  our  national  welfare  is  the 
strengthening  of  our  sea-power.  The  German  people, 
together  with  its  princes  and  Kaiser,  is  now  convinced 
that  it  must  mark  a  new  epoch  in  its  mighty  develop- 
ment by  the  creation  of  a  large  navy  commensurate  in 
its  power  and  size.  ..." 

The  attainment  of  his  majority  by  the  Crown-prince 
— which  is  fixed  by  the  imperial  constitution  at  the 
completed  eighteenth  year — fell  on  May  6,  1900.  It 
was  celebrated  with  a  whole  series  of  gorgeous  court 
and  military  festivities.  The  Emperor  of  Austria- 
Hungary  and  a  number  of  other  sovereigns  came  to 
assist  in  these.  Special  honors  and  privileges  were 
conferred  on  this  youth  during  the  day.  Frederick 
William,  the  Crown-prince,  who  was  then  still  an  un- 
spoiled boy,  bore  them  all  meekly  and  modestly.  His 
father  seized  upon  the  favorable  occasion  to  make  a 
number  of  speeches  and  to  propose  some  toasts.  In 
the  morning,  after  the  Crown  -  prince  had  been  for- 
mally enrolled  and  inducted  into  the  1st  Grenadiers 
as  its  youngest  lieutenant,  and  after  this  regiment  had 
been  renamed  "  Crown  -  prince "  in  his  special  honor, 
his  father  addressed  the  young  man,  in  the  presence 
of  a  delegation  from  that  regiment.  The  Kaiser  drew 
a  parallel  between  his  son's  ''crown-princeship"  and 
that  of  his  own  father.     He  admonished  his  son  to 

288 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIS   FAMILY 

strive  earnestly  after  the  laurels  and  the  universal  af- 
fection which  his  grandfather  had  won  during  the 
many  years  he  had  borne  the  title  of  crown-prince, 
saying : 

".  .  .  It  will  require  the  work  of  a  lifetime  and 
your  whole  efforts  to  maintain  the  position  of  crown- 
prince  in  such  manner  as  it  has  lived  in  the  hearts  and 
affections  of  the  nation  and  of  the  army.  First  as 
Crown-prince  of  Prussia,  next  as  Crown-prince  of  the 
German  Empire,  as  that  had  been  welded  together  in 
1870-71,  this  imposing  figure,  whose  last  days  were 
filled  with  such  unparalleled  suffering,  looms  in  history, 
lives  in  the  hearts  of  the  German  people,  as  the  Crown- 
prince  par  excellence.  The  great  position  which  your 
grandfather  has  given  to  the  office  of  German  Crown- 
prince  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  and  in  those  of  the 
nation  is  an  inheritance  which  you  must  strive  to 
preserve  intact,  or,  if  possible,  to  increase.  Be  sure  of 
this,  that  it  will  need  all  the  strength  of  your  young 
manhood  to  carry  out  satisfactorily  this  high  and 
noble  task.  ..." 

During  the  banquet  in  the  afternoon  the  Kaiser 
made  a  somewhat  lengthy  speech,  in  which  he  said: 

"...  The  appearance  here  of  your  Majesties  and 
the  sending  of  so  many  cousins  on  the  part  of  European 
sovereigns  have  made  of  a  simple  family  fete  a  world- 
historical  moment  of  the  first  magnitude.  .  .  ." 

He  then  proceeded  to  declare  his  conviction  that  the 
presence  of  so  many  august  guests  was  due  to  the 
common  bonds  uniting  them  all,  and  that  their  houses 
all  rested  on  the  same  foundation  on  which  the  Hohen- 
zollern  dynasty  had  been  erected — on  "tradition,"  by 
19  289 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

which,  as  he  further  explained,  he  meant  "hard, 
serious  work,  in  slow  but  steady  upbuilding  of  their 
powers  and  those  of  their  countries,  and  in  the  joint 
endurance  of  evil  days  and  the  joint  enjoyment  of 
good  days  by  ruler  and  subjects  alike."  The  Kaiser 
then  added: 

"  Borne  by  the  consciousness  of  the  tasks  which  God 
Himself  has  put  before  them,  my  ancestors  have  laid 
the  foundations.  This  consciousness  of  a  divinely  ap- 
pointed task  is  shared  with  us  by  every  other  monarch 
and  ruler." 

Several  weeks  later,  in  presenting  his  son  to  the 
ist  Guards  in  Potsdam,  on  May  30th,  the  Kaiser  said: 

"  I  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  my  regiment  that  it 
will  prove  in  the  case  of  my  son  what  it  has  proved  in 
the  case  of  so  many  Prussian  kings,  princes,  and  excel- 
lent generals — namely,  a  matchless  educational  school 
for  the  officer. 

"  In  his  own  case  I  hope  and  trust  that  he  will  ex- 
perience the  same  enjoyment  in  mingling,  in  the  ranks 
of  my  own  dear  company,  with  the  men  and  officers, 
and  that  he  will  acquire  the  same  amount  of  con- 
fidence which  I  succeeded  in  earning  for  myself  under 
the  same  circumstances,  and  that  he  will  feel  intimate- 
ly interested  in  his  comrades  as  members  of  the  same 
army  and  of  the  same  country. 

"Thus  I  hand  over  to  you  my  son,  in  the  expecta- 
tion that  he  will  one  of  these  days  become  an  efficient 
Prussian  officer  and  a  good  soldier." 

At  the  laying  of  the  foundation  of  the  reconstructed 
Saalburg,  an  ancient  Roman  fort,  near  Homburg,  on 
October  11,  1900,  the  Kaiser  was  present.     He  sent,  in 

290 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIS   FAMILY 

a  jocular  vein,  a  telegram  couched  in  the  Latin  tongue 
to  the  leading  German  archaeologist,  Professor  Momm- 
sen,  as  follows: 

"Theodoro  Mommseno,  antiquitatum  Romanorum 
investigatori  incomparabili,  praetorii  Saalburgensis  fun- 
damenta  jaciens  salutem  dicit  et  gratias  agit  Guliel- 
mus  Germanorum  Imperator."  * 

To  which  the  octogenarian  veteran  of  science,  entering 
into  the  spirit  of  the  message,  promptly  replied  in  kind. 

In  the  presence  of  the  Kaiser,  and  of  the  whole 
imperial  family,  the  dedication  of  a  church  in  Konigs- 
berg,  built  in  memory  of  Queen  Louise  of  Prussia,  took 
place  on  September  9,  1901,  and  later  on  the  same  day 
the  Kaiser  made  a  speech  in  which  he  paid  a  high 
tribute  to  that  unfortunate  lady,  saying: 

"...  In  a  reverential  spirit  the  memory  of  that 
beautiful  and  most  womanly  and  wifely  Queen  has 
been  mentioned  to-day.  Among  Europe's  queens  she 
shines  as  a  brilliant  star,  one  whom,  for  those  born  to 
the  purple,  it  is  a  special  duty  to  strive  after.  ..." 

Then  the  Kaiser,  referring  to  the  fact  that  he  had 
caused  the  insignia  of  German  imperial  power  to  be 
placed,  as  if  for  adoration,  on  an  altar  of  a  local  church, 
where  they  had  been  gazed  at  from  a  respectful  dis- 
tance by  thousands  of  the  people  of  Konigsberg,  said : 

"To  emphasize  anew  the  fact  that  the  kngdom  of 
Prussia,  and  issuing  thence  the  German  Empire,  has 
taken  its  rise  in  Konigsberg  and  in  this  province  of 


'"William,  Kaiser  of  the  Ger- 
mans, laying  the  foundation  to 
the  Saalburg,  sends  greetings  and 


thanks  to  Theodore  Mommsen, 
the  incomparable  investigator  of 
Roman  antiquities." — Ed. 


291 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

East  Prussia,  I  brought  my  imperial  insignia  with  me 
here,  and  had  them  placed  yesterday  on  God's  altar, 
so  that  your  eyes  might  see  them  and  the  divine 
blessing  might  once  more  be  implored  for  them,  on  the 
same  altar  where  once  stood  Emperor  William  the 
Great  and  placed  on  his  head  that  crown  which  he 
deemed  solely  derived  from  God.  ..." 

The  ceremony  wound  up  with  the  presentation  of  a 
curious  "double  portrait,"  painted  at  the  Kaiser's  per- 
sonal orders,  and  showing,  side  by  side,  the  first  King 
of  Prussia,  Frederick  I.,  who  crowned  himself  in  1701, 
and  William  II.,  the  present  ruler,  both  monarchs  ap- 
pearing in  resplendent  regal  robes  on  the  canvas. 

On  June  18,  1902,  the  student  Corps  Borussia,  of  the 
University  of  Bonn,  of  which  the  Kaiser  had  been  an 
active  member  during  his  university  days,  commemo- 
rated the  seventy -fifth  anniversary  of  its  existence. 
This  was  done  with  the  usual  accompaniment  on  such 
occasions  in  German  universities — i.  e.,  a  plenitude  of 
beer  and  song  in  the  quarters  of  the  "corps."  The 
Kaiser  and  his  eldest  son,  the  Crown-prince,  attended 
as  members,  while  a  number  of  invited  ladies,  among 
them  the  Empress  and  several  court  ladies,  sat  in  the 
gallery  above  the  scene.  At  a  point  in  the  proceed- 
ings the  Kaiser  assumed  the  presidency  of  the  Com- 
mers,1  and  toasted  his  spouse  in  the  following  strain: 

"When  our  ancestors  rode  into  the  tournament,  a 
wreath  of  beautiful  ladies  surrounded  them,  looking 
down  upon  the  doughty  warriors.  Never  in  the  his- 
tory of  German  universities  has  one  of  them  been 
honored  as  this  one  is  honored  to-day.     Right  here 


1  Commers  is  a  peculiar  Ger- 
man student  festivity,  which  con- 
sists in   drinking  a  lot   of  beer 

292 


according  to  certain  rules,  and 
in  singing  and  speech  -  mak- 
ing.— Ed. 


THE   KAISER  AND   HIS   FAMILY 

in  charming  Bonn,  surrounded  by  princely,  high-born 
ladies,  her  Majesty  the  Empress  has  appeared,  the 
first  sovereign  lady  who  has  attended  a  commers  of 
the  students.  This  unparalleled  honor,  however,  has 
been  shown  to  the  city  of  Bonn,  and  within  Bonn 
to  the  Corps  Borussia.  I  hope  and  expect  that  all 
young  Borussians  upon  whom  the  eyes  of  her  Majes- 
ty dwell  to-day  will  thereby  be  consecrated  for  their 
whole  lives.  But  we  down  here,  whether  general  or 
statesman,  whether  lieutenant  or  rustic  younker,  all 
join  in  gratitude  to  bow  before  her  Majesty  the  Em- 
press. We  rub  an  extra  strong  salamander  upon  the 
health  of  her  Majesty." 

In  explanation  of  the  above,  those  readers  not 
familiar  with  German  university  customs  need,  per- 
haps, be  told  that  to  "rub  a  salamander"  is  the 
greatest  honor  done  by  the  corona  (all  present),  and 
consists  in  rattling  your  tumbler  or  tankard  on  the 
table  in  quick  succession  and  all  keeping  time,  winding 
up  with  a  sharp  tap,  then  everybody  poising  his  vessel 
in  midair  and  gulping  down  its  contents  a  tempo,  and 
next  slamming  the  empty  vessel  on  the  sloppy  table 
with  a  noise  like  reverberating  thunder.  The  more 
exact  all  this  is  done,  and  the  greater  the  volume  of 
noise  produced,  the  greater  the  honor  conferred  on 
the  person  in  whose  behalf  the  curious  feat  has  been 
performed. 

The  Corps  Borussia,  which  was  thus  "honored"  by 
the  presence  of  the  Empress,  is  the  one  which  admitted, 
a  twelvemonth  before,  the  young  Crown-prince  as  a 
member,  the  Kaiser  personally  accompanying  and  ini- 
tiating his  son.  The  drinking  on  that  night  is  said  to 
have  been  particularly  hard.  The  members  of  this 
"corps"  are  all  scions  of  ultra-loyal  Prussian  families, 
mostly  of  the  wealthier  land-holding  or  "  younker  "  class. 

293 


XIX 

THE  KAISER  AS  MARGRAVE  OF  BRANDENBURG 

Feels  special  pride  in  the  title — Reasons  for  his  intimate  re- 
lations with  the  representatives  of  this  province — Calls 
it  the  cradle  and  primal  source  of  Hohenzollern  power — 
His  sensational  and  frank  utterances  before  the  Branden- 
burg Provincial  Chambers — Terms  Bismarck,  Moltke,  and 
Roon  "mere  tools  of  the  august  will"  of  William  I. — 
Emphasizing  the  divine  right  of  monarchs. 

Most  characteristic  of  the  Kaiser's  real  self,  be- 
cause most  unguarded  and  impulsive,  are  the  speeches, 
toasts,  and  chance  remarks  he  has  made,  both  before 
and  after  hjs  accession,  in  the  presence  of  the  Provincial 
Chambers  of  Brandenburg.  Before  the  delegates  to 
this  body  and  the  high  government  and  administrative 
officials  attending  the  annual  banquets  given  by  the 
chambers,  the  Kaiser  feels  himself  exclusively  in  his 
capacity  of  Margrave  of  Brandenburg.  This  being 
the  oldest  rank  in  point  of  time  which  his  ancestors 
acquired  when  they  came,  five  hundred  years  ago, 
from  their  southern  home  into  Brandenburg,  then 
desolate  and  poverty-stricken,  obeying  the  mandate 
of  an  early  German  emperor,  and  a  rank  they  held 
for  long  generations  before  being  promoted  to  the 
higher  dignity  of  elector  of  the  old  empire,  there  is, 
perhaps,  a  poetical  or  sentimental  reason  why  the  pres- 
ent Kaiser  should  cherish  it  as  much  as  he  does. 

At  any  rate,  the  fact  admits  of  no  dispute  that 
William  II.  has  always  given  fuller  vent  and  more 

294 


KAISER  AS   MARGRAVE  OF   BRANDENBURG 

unrestrained  expression  to  his  real  views  and  senti- 
ments on  public  and  personal  questions  when  facing 
these  friendly  and  discreet  audiences  of  Brandenburg 
notables  than  he  has  done  anywhere  else.  Many  of 
his  most  sensational  utterances,  several  of  those  which 
outside  of  this  small  gathering  met  with  almost  uni- 
versal condemnation,  were  made  before  "  his  Branden- 
burgers."  But  many  of  his  remarks  here,  also,  afford 
intelligent  explanation  of  a  certain  line  of  policy  fol- 
lowed by  him,  or  of  actions  done  by  him,  and  some  of 
them  are  nothing  less  than  interesting  ' '  documents 
humains"  in  Zola's  sense.  His  abnormal  confidence 
in  his  own  abilities,  his  own  wisdom,  his  own  prow- 
ess, found  here  likewise  startling  expression.  Here  he 
complains  of  being  misunderstood  and  misinterpreted, 
and  here  he  announces  what  he  means  to  do,  either  in 
the  near  future  or  in  remoter  times. 

His  speeches  and  off-hand  conversations  on  social 
occasions  before  "his  Brandenburgers "  have  not  been 
recorded  during  the  years  he  was  still  "plain  Prince 
William,"  but  those  made  since  his  accession  were  all 
carefully  preserved,  and  the  most  sensational  of  them 
have  crept  into  print. 

In  March,  1889,  at  a  plenary  session  of  these  Provin- 
cial Chambers  of  Brandenburg,  he  said: 

"...  The  first  and  noblest  name  in  my  great  royal 
title  is  that  of  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  and  as  such 
I  consider  myself,  of  course,  exclusively  when  I  am 
among  you,  as  your  direct  and  immediate  chieftain, 
and  deem  it  my  duty  to  be  one  of  you  whenever  you 
assemble. 

"The  year  just  past  has  brought  us  trying  times, 
such  as  no  other  people  or  family  scarcely  ever  passed 
through.  So  far  as  history  teaches  us,  there  has 
never  been  a  case  like  ours.     We  lost  two  kings.     I 

295 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

myself  saw  within  a  few  months  both  grandfather  and 
father  pass  away.  I  think  that  is  a  hard  enough 
schooling  for  a  young  gentleman  that  is  called  to  rule 
over  such  a  country.  ..." 

The  year  following,  on  March  5,  these  same  Provin- 
cial Chambers  gave  a  banquet  at  the  Hotel  Kaiserhof , 
in  Berlin,  and  the  young  Kaiser  spoke  at  length,  saying : 

"...  The  intimate  connection  existing  between  the 
Hohenzollerns  and  Brandenburg,  often  admired  by  and 
incomprehensible  to  foreigners,  is  based  in  the  main 
on  the  fact  that,  contrary  to  other  states,  it  was  the 
privilege  of  the  Brandenburgers  to  be  permitted  to 
prove  their  fidelity  to  the  House  of  Hohenzollern  at 
periods  of  gravest  calamity  and  in  times  of  the  most 
terrible  public  disaster.  .   .  . 

"...  During  my  travels,  of  which  your  presiding 
officer  spoke  just  now,  I  pursued  not  alone  the  aim  to 
become  acquainted  with  foreign  countries  and  foreign 
political  institutions, to  nurture  friendly  relations  with 
the  rulers  of  neighboring  countries— no,  I  had  other 
things  in  mind.  These  journeys  of  mine,  misinterpret- 
ed in  many  ways,  possessed  a  high  value  for  me,  for 
they  enabled  me,  removed  for  a  space  from  the  partisan 
contests  of  the  day,  to  view  our  internal  affairs,  so  to 
speak,  from  a  distant  perspective,  and  thus  to  examine 
them  with  greater  leisure  and  without  bias.  Whoever 
has  stood  alone  on  the  broad  ocean,  quietly  ruminating 
upon  the  commander's  bridge,  nothing  but  God's 
starry  sky  above  him,  and  has  allowed  his  thoughts  to 
roam  at  will,  or  concentrated  them  upon  some  par- 
ticular problem,  will  not  deny  the  great  value  of  such 
journeys.  I  would  give  much  if  many  of  my  country- 
men might  be  also  allowed  to  indulge  in  such  calm 
reflection,  away  from  momentary  disturbances,  hours 

296 


KAISER  AS   MARGRAVE  OF   BRANDENBURG 

when  man  can  give  an  account  to  himself  what  he  has 
striven  for  and  what  he  has  actually  accomplished. 
At  such  times  one  is  cured  of  a  too  high  opinion  of  one's 
own  worth  —  and  that  is  something  which  all  of  us 
need.  .  .  . 

"...  My  late  grandfather  deemed  his  position  a 
task  set  him  by  God  Himself,  and  in  whose  accomplish- 
ment he  had  to  spend  all  his  strength,  to  the  very  last 
breath.  His  way  of  thinking  is  mine,  and  I  perceive 
in  the  country  and  people  come  to  me  by  inheritance 
a  treasure  intrusted  to  me  by  God.  To  increase  and 
multiply  this  is,  as  the  Bible  tells  us,  my  duty,  and  I 
shall  have  to  give  an  accounting  some  day  how  I  have 
made  use  of  it.  I  mean  to  use  my  opportunities  well, 
so  that,  as  I  hope  and  trust,  I  shall  be  able  to  add 
in  time  much  and  many  things  to  the  original  inher- 
itance. 

"Those  who  are  willing  to  help  me  in  this  work  will 
be  heartily  welcomed  by  me,  no  matter  who  they  be. 
But  those  who  should  oppose  me  in  this  work  I  will 
crush. 

"  If  serious  times  should  come,  I  feel  confident  of  the 
fidelity  of  my  Brandenburgers,  and  I  hope  they  will 
help  me  faithfully  in  the  discharge  of  my  duties.  ..." 

On  February  20,  1891,  the  Kaiser  again  faced  his 
Brandenburgers,  the  occasion  being  a  similar  one,  and 
said: 

"...  I  rejoice  with  all  my  heart  that  it  was  vouch- 
safed me  to  spend  another  evening  with  you.  It  feels 
good  to  meet  in  this  way  men  of  whom  one  knows  that 
they  think  and  feel  the  same  way  about  important 
questions.  ..." 

The   speaker   then   gave   a   general   survey   of  his 

297 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

doings  and  experiences  during  the  past  year  so  far  as 
domestic  affairs  were  concerned,  and  then  continued: 

"...  I  stood  last  year  on  a  spot  dear  to  all  of  us — 
I  might  say  sacred ;  this  spot  is  Memel.  I  was  there 
in  the  small  house  where  my  great-grandparents  lived 
and  had  their  being  in  a  time  of  severe  trial  and 
anxiety,  a  time  when  our  country  lay  crushed,  a  prey 
to  the  conqueror  and  almost  without  hope  of  a  brighter 
future.  And  yet  it  was  precisely  from  there,  and  when 
nobody  knew  or  even  dreamed  of  resurrection  for  the 
country,  that  the  beginnings  of  our  greatness  of  to-day 
took  their  rise.  Kingship,  holding  fast  to  God,  to 
faith,  to  duty;  the  people,  still  relying  on  the  hand  of 
their  royal  guide.  These  two  united  again,  and  in  this 
fidelity,  this  unbroken  faith  in  each  other,  lies  con- 
cealed the  greatness,  the  secret  of  our  fatherland's 
rise.  I  know  very  well  that  in  our  time  systematic 
attempts  are  being  made  to  trouble  the  minds  of  the 
people.  The  spirit  of  disobedience  stalks  through  the 
land;  clothed  in  a  glitteringly  seductive  garb,  it  seeks 
to  win  away  from  me  the  affection  and  trust  of  my 
people,  of  the  men  who  remain  faithful  to  me.  It 
employs  an  ocean  of  printer's  ink  trying  to  befog  the 
judgment  of  my  people,-  and  yet  these  machinations  are 
vain,  for  their  ulterior  purpose  must  be  plain  to  every- 
body who  knows  me  and  the  principles  which  guide 
me.  .  .  . 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  the  men  of  Brandenburg  will 
hesitate  to  follow  me  in  the  paths  which  I  tread.  You 
know  that  I  look  upon  my  position  and  upon  my 
whole  task  as  one  set  me  by  Heaven,  that  I  am  merely 
executing  the  mandates  of  One  higher  than  I,  and  to 
whom  I  must  one  day  render  an  account.  I  can 
assure  you  that  no  evening  and  no  morning  passes 
without  a  prayer  for  my  people,  and  especially  for  my 

298 


KAISER  AS   MARGRAVE  OF  BRANDENBURG 

* 

Brandenburgers.  Well,  then,  Brandenburgers !  Your 
margrave  is  speaking  to  you.  Follow  him  through  the 
thick  of  the  fray,  whatever  betide  and  wherever  he 
may  lead  you!  You  can  rest  assured  that  it  will  al- 
ways be  a  path  that  leads  to  the  welfare  and  the  great- 
ness of  our  fatherland.  ..." 

A  year  later,  on  February  24,  1892,  the  Kaiser  spoke 
again  to  the  same  men,  and  in  a  similar  strain.  Public 
criticism  or  censure  for  some  of  his  acts  during  the 
preceding  year,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  had  ruffled 
his  temper,  and  he  was  heard  to  the  following  effect : 

"...  With  the  hard  toil  devolving  upon  me,  it  is 
doubly  a  pleasure  and  boon  to  me,  inspiriting  and 
stimulating,  to  find  here  men  who  intelligently  ap- 
preciate my  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  welfare  of  the 
nation.  Unfortunately,  it  has  become  a  habit  to  crit- 
icise everything  proceeding  from  the  government.  On 
the  most  trivial  pretexts  the  people's  peace  of  mind 
is  being  disturbed,  and  their  joy  of  living,  their  appre- 
ciation of  the  rapid  growth  and  increasing  prosperity 
of  our  entire,  our  great  country,  is  being  poisoned. 
From  this  habit  of  fault-finding,  and  from  this  sys- 
tematic attempt  to  besmirch  everything  in  our  land, 
the  thought  is  finally  engendered  in  the  bosom  of  our 
people  that  our  country  is  the  unhappiest  and  worst- 
governed  in  the  world,  and  that  it  means  punishment 
to  live  in  it.  That  this  is  not  in  accordance  with  the 
facts  we  all  of  us  know,  of  course.  But  would  it  not 
be  better,  under  the  circumstances,  if  all  these  dis- 
satisfied fault  -  finders  were  to  shake  the  German  dust 
off  their  slippers  and  to  withdraw  themselves  hur- 
riedly from  these  miserable  and  pitiable  conditions? 
By  so  doing,  at  least,  their  own  wish  would  be  gratified, 
and  as  for  us — why,  they  would  do  us  a  great  favor. 

299 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

"  We  are  living  in  a  transition  period.  Germany  is 
gradually  finding  her  baby  shoes  too  small,  and  is 
stepping  into  maturity.  It  is  time  that  we  should  rid 
ourselves  of  these  baby  complaints.  We  are  now  pass- 
ing through  feverishly  excited  days  and  years,  when 
the  calmness  of  impartiality  is,  I  regret  to  say,  too 
generally  lacking.    But  quieter  days  will  follow.  ..." 

The  Kaiser  then  told  an  apt  historical  anecdote  of 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  and  dwelt  on  the  confidence  in- 
spiring him  in  his  duties  as  a  ruler,  continuing : 

"To  that  must  be  added  the  sentiment  of  responsi- 
bility towards  the  Most  High  which  lives  in  me,  and 
my  rocklike  conviction  that  our  Great  Ally  of  Rossbach 
and  Dennewitz1  will  not  fail  me.  He  has  taken  such 
an  amount  of  pains  with  our  old  Mark  Brandenburg 
and  with  our  House  of  Hohenzollern  that  it  is  not  to 
be  assumed  He  will  have  His  pains  for  nothing.  On  the 
contrary,  Brandenburgers,  we  are  destined  to  great 
things,  and  I  will  lead  you  upward  to  joyous,  glorious 
days.  Do  not  let  your  judgment  be  clouded  by  all 
these  fault-finders,  nor  blind  your  eyes  to  the  bright 
future  by  grumblers,  thus  killing  your  joy  in  the  work 
you  share.  Phrases  alone  will  not  do  the  work,  and 
to  those  who  ceaselessly  throw  out  animadversions 
about  the  '  new  course ' 2  I  reply,  calmly  and  firmly : 
'My  course  is  the  right  one,  and  I  will  continue  to 
steer  it!"' 

In  a  speech  to  the  same  audience,  a  year  later,  the 
Kaiser  said,  among  other  things  of  less  moment: 


1  Meaning  God. — Ed. 

3  ' '  The  new  course ' '  was  a  term 
which  the  "Bismarck  press  "  had 
tacked  to  the  Kaiser's  novel  pol- 

300 


icy,  so  full  of  surprises  and  de- 
viating in  so  many  ways  from  the 
steady  and  conservative  policy 
of  the  Iron  Chancellor. — Ed. 


KAISER  AS   MARGRAVE  OF   BRANDENBURG 

"The  sacred  figure  of  our  great,  dead  Emperor 
William  is  ever  before  us,  recalling  memories  of  his 
unprecedented  achievements.  How  did  he  accomplish 
them?  Simply  because  my  grandfather  harbored  in 
his  soul  the  stanchest,  most  unshakable  belief  in  his 
mission  from  God,  a  belief  to  which  he  joined  tireless 
zeal  in  the  performance  of  duty.  Behind  him  stood 
the  Mark  Brandenburg,  stood  the  entire  fatherland. 
In  these  traditions,  gentlemen,  I  myself  grew  up,  and 
was  educated  in  them  by  him.  I  share  his  faith.  My 
highest  reward  is,  therefore,  to  work  day  and  night 
for  the  welfare  of  my  people.  But  I  do  not  disguise 
from  myself  the  fact  that  I  cannot,  shall  not,  succeed 
in  ever  rendering  all  the  parts  and  classes  of  my  peo- 
ple equally  happy  and  contented.  But  I  hope  to  be 
able  to  achieve  this :  to  create  conditions  with  which 
all  thpse  may  be  content  who  wish  to  be  content.  .  .  ." 

Again,  on  February  24,  1894,  at  the  recurring  annual 
dinner  of  the  same  Provincial  Chambers,  the  Kaiser 
spoke  at  length.  This  time  the  vein  was  a  happier  one. 
He  graphically  outlined  the  history  of  Brandenburg, 
lauding  the  Great  Elector  and  dwelling  with  emphasis 
on  the  duty  of  patriotism  and  on  the  divine  right  of 
kings.     Then  he  continued: 

"...  Cultivate,  therefore,  the  love  for  our  country. 
Teach  our  youth  to  rejoice  in  belonging  to  a  great, 
united  German  Empire,  wherein,  after  all,  Branden- 
burg is  the  chief  tower  of  strength !  And  if  unsuccess- 
ful, let  them  learn  from  other  nations !  I  will  instance 
in  this  connection  the  Dutch  people,  near  relations  of 
ours  by  ties  of  blood  and  religion,  and  among  whom 
the  Great  Elector  was  permitted  to  spend  the  years 
of  his  boyhood,  to  enable  him  later  on  to  utilize  in  his 
own  lands  those  things  he  had  learned  there.     How 

301 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

firmly  rooted  in  the  popular  mind  is  there  the  con- 
sciousness of  those  things  which  their  dynasty  achieved 
for  Holland !  That  is  shown  by  a  little,  simple  incident 
which  happened  when  a  poor  Dutch  farmer's  wife, 
leading  her  babes  by  the  hand,  went  up  to  the  house 
in  the  walls  of  which  can  still  be  seen  the  bullet-holes 
made  when  William  of  Orange  fell  there,  the  victim  of 
an  assassin.  And  as  the  good-wife  reached  this  spot, 
she  pointed  out  these  holes  to  her  children,  saying: 
'That  is  William!' 

"Well,  we  should  do  the  same!  Let  us  look  back 
upon  the  year  1866,  and  upon  the  year  1870,  and  say: 
'That  is  William!'  These  are  great  things  which  my 
august  ancestors  have  done  for  you,  for  all  of  us!" 

A  twelvemonth  later,  on  February  24,  1895,  the 
Kaiser  touched,  in  his  talk  to  "  his  Brandenburg- 
ers,"  mainly  on  the  agrarian  problem  in  Germany, 
which  was  then  agitating  the  mind  of  the  nation.  He 
said: 

"...  The  questions  which  momentarily  call  chiefly 
for  solution  regard,  above  all,  the  tillers  of  our  soil. 
...  I  hope  with  all  my  heart  that  I  shall  succeed  in 
achieving  for  you  something  permanently  useful,  and 
with  all  my  power  and  ability  will  I  work  to  that  end. 
But  I  must  warn  you  seriously  not  to  indulge  ex- 
travagant hopes,  or  to  ask  us  to  make  an  effort  towards 
realizing  Utopias.  No  calling  or  class  has  a  right  to 
demand  preferment  or  advantages  at  the  cost  of  all 
the  others.  It  is  the  task  of  the  monarch  to  weigh 
the  interests  of  all  classes  of  the  population,  one 
against  the  remainder,  in  order  to  safeguard  the  com- 
mon interests  of  the  fatherland.  ..." 

His -speech  a  year  later,  to  the  same  hearers,  was 

302 


KAISER  AS   MARGRAVE   OF   BRANDENBURG 

devoted  to  a  gigantic  panegyric  upon  William  I.     Its 
most  characteristic  passage  ran  thus: 

"  What  we  have  lived  to  see,  what  has  been  achieved, 
we  owe,  after  all,  to  nobody  else  but  to  the  great  Em- 
peror William  and  to  his  faith  in  God.  The  whole 
series  of  fetes  and  celebrations  last  year,  culminating 
in  the  glorification  of  this  personality,  become  abso- 
lutely sainted  and  sacred  for  us.  He  embodies  for  us 
the  unity  of  our  longed-for,  our  new  German  father- 
land. It  is  our  sacred  duty  to  keep  the  holy  memory 
of  this  personality  intact  and  free  of  all  blemish,  and  to 
defend  it  against  whosoever  it  may  be.   .   .  ." 

On  February  26,  1897,  the  Kaiser  delivered  an  ad- 
dress to  the  same  audience,  in  which  he  indulged  in 
historical  reminiscences,  comparing  conditions  prevail- 
ing under  the  ancient  German  emperors  with  those  now 
obtaining  under  his  own  rule,  and  pointing  out  that 
Frederick  Barbarossa  had  been  the  only  one  of  these 
old  emperors  under  whom  Germany  could  be  said  to 
have  flourished.  Then  he  outlined  the  career  of  his 
own  grandfather,  concluding  with  the  words : 

"...  Gentlemen,  if  this  august  lord  had  lived  dur- 
ing the  Middle  Ages  he  would  have  been  canonized, 
and  pilgrimages  would  have  been  undertaken  from 
every  country  on  the  globe,  to  pray  near  his  bones. 
But,  thank  the  Lord !  that  is  still  possible  to-day.  The 
gate  to  his  tomb  stands  ajar.  Every  day  in  the  year 
faithful  subjects  undertake  pilgrimages  there,  taking 
their  children  by  the  hand.  Foreigners,  too,  go  there, 
to  enjoy  a  look  upon  this  grand  old  man  and  to  gaze 
upon  the  images  fashioned  after  him.  .  .  . 

"A  task  devolving  upon  all  of  us,  and  which  we,  to 
keep  the  memory  of  this  great  man  immaculate,  must 

3°3 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

perform,  is  the  fight  against  subversive  tendencies  and 
parties,  to  be  carried  on  with  every  means  at  our  dis- 
posal. That  party  which  dares  to  assault  the  founda- 
tion of  the  state,  which  rebels  against  religion,  and 
which  does  not  even  halt  before  the  person  of  the  most 
august  ruler,  must  be  overcome.  I  shall  be  glad  to 
hold  the  hand  of  every  man  in  my  own,  be  he  laborer, 
prince,  or  lord,  who  will  engage  to  aid  me  in  this  fight. 
And  this  fight  we  can  only  bring  to  a  victorious  issue 
if  we  remember  forever  the  man  whom  we  have  to 
thank  for  our  fatherland,  for  the  German  Empire;  in 
whose  train  there  was,  by  God's  decree,  many  an  able, 
efficient  adviser,  men  who  had  the  honor  of  carrying 
out  his  ideas,  but  who  were,  nevertheless,  but  mere 
tools  of  his  august  will,  inspired  by  the  mind  of  the 
revered  Emperor." 

Another  speech  of  some  length  was  made  by  the 
Kaiser  on  February  3,  1899,  at  the  annual  banquet 
given  by  the  Brandenburg  Chambers.  He  had  listened 
with  evident  pleasure  to  the  chairman's  address  glori- 
fying the  deeds  of  the  Hohenzollerns,  and,  in  reply  to 
this  fulsome  praise,  stated: 

"...  The  one  chief  reason  was  that  they,  alone 
among  all  the  other  monarchs  and  at  a  time  when  such 
thoughts  and  sentiments  were  as  yet  scarcely  '  fashion- 
able,' represented  and  felt  the  ruler's  personal  responsi- 
bility to  Heaven.  The  second  reason  was  that  they 
had  the  people  of  the  Mark  behind  them.  ..." 

Next  he  reviewed  the  events  and  impressions  of  his 
recent  journey  to  Palestine,  dwelling  on  some  objection- 
able features  that  had  struck  him,  among  them  the 
scarcity  of  forests  and  of  trees  generally  in  the  Holy 
Land,  a  lack  of  charm  in  the  barren  landscape  which 

304    .. 


KAISER  AS   MARGRAVE  OF  BRANDENBURG 

was  specially  distasteful  to  Germanic  perceptions,  for 
to  the  German  the  living,  growing,  majestic  tree  had 
since  prehistoric  times  been  an  object  of  special  af- 
fection and  admiration,  almost  of  veneration.  Then  he 
told  in  illustration  this  anecdote : 

"  It  was  right  after  the  great,  inspiriting  events  of 
1870-71.  The  armies  had  returned  home .  The  j  ubila- 
tions  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  had  calmed 
down,  and  now  serious  toil,  notably  the  organization 
and  the  further  development  of  the  new-won  father- 
land, was  to  begin.  And  so  one  day  the  three  paladins 
of  the  great  old  Emperor  sat  down  to  meat  together, 
for  the  first  time  since  their  return,  and  all  by  them- 
selves— the  matchless  general,  the  mighty  chancellor, 
and  the  faithful  war  minister.  And  after  the  first  glass 
had  been  emptied  in  honor  of  the  monarch  and  the 
fatherland,  the  chancellor  spoke,  turning  to  his  two 
companions,  saying :  '  We  have  attained  all  we  fought 
for,  toiled  for,  suffered  for.  We  stand  on  the  summit 
of  all  we  have  ever  dreamed  of.  What  now  can  come 
to  us  specially  interesting,  inspiring,  or  stimulating, 
after  what  we  have  lived  to  see?'  There  was  a  short 
pause,  and  then  the  white-haired  leader  of  battles  made 
answer,  '  To  see  the  tree  grow !'  And  there  was  deep 
silence  in  the  room. 

"Yes,  gentlemen — to  see  the  tree  grow.  The  tree 
we  want  to  see  growing,  and  which  we  must  help 
develop,  is  the  sturdy  oak-tree  of  the  empire.  .  .  . 

"...  Safe  is  that  peace  behind  which  stands  the 
German  St.  Michael,  with  his  shield  and  sword. 

"  It  is,  no  doubt,  a  grand  undertaking  for  all  nations 
to  bring  about  universal  peace.  But  there  is  one  mighty 
error  in  their  calculations.  So  long  as  unredeemed  sin 
rules  mankind,  so  long  shall  we  have  war  and  hatred, 
envy  and  discord,  and  so  long,  too,  will  one  man  try 

305 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

to  overreach  the  other.  And  what  is  true  of  indi- 
viduals is  also  true  of  nations.  Therefore,  we  must 
endeavor,  we  Germans,  to  keep  together  like  a  solid 
block.  And  against  this  rocker  de  bronze,  against  this 
German  nation,  far  away  across  the  seas  and  at  home 
in  Europe,  the  breakers  threatening  peace  will  spend 
themselves  in  vain.  ..." 


XX 

THE  KAISER  IN  HIS  UNIVERSITY  RELATIONS 

As  member  of  his  "corps"  in  Bonn  University — His  connec- 
tion with  it  as  alter  Herr — Replying  to  a  toast  at  a  com- 
mers  a  year  before  his  accession  —  As  Kaiser  he  upholds 
the  customary  student  duels — Initiating  his  eldest  son  in 
1 90 1 — Preaching  the  doctrine  of  nationalism  to  the  stu- 
dents— His  remarks  about  German  enviousness — "We  need 
personalities,  men" — Emphasizing  the  need  of  ideals. 

When  Prince  William,  then  eighteen  years  of  age, 
became  a  student  at  the  university  of  Bonn,  in  1877, 
he  joined  the  local  crack  "corps,"  the  Borussia,  a 
student  organization  to  which  ever  since  its  infancy 
members  of  the  Prussian  royal  house,  as  well  as  of 
other  German  sovereign  houses,  had  belonged  during 
their  university  days.  Bonn  is  that  university  in  Ger- 
many which  has  been  all  along  the  one  where  the 
young  princes  and  other  high-born  personages  of  the 
fatherland  have  gone  by  preference  to  study.  This  is 
in  large  part  owing  to  the  fact  that  a  process  of  "nat- 
ural selection"  has  been  systematically  at  work  —  in 
fact,  ever  since  its  foundation,  in  181 6  —  making  it 
the  intellectual  nursery  of  hereditary  monarchism,  of 
intense  loyalty,  and  of  approved  political  principles 
generally.  And  the  Borussia,  again,  is  that  organized 
body  of  students  there  which  embraces  the  picked 
representatives  of  all  this. 

Prince  William,  during  his  two  years'  stay,  heard 
lectures   on   Roman   law,  history,  philosophy,  exper- 

307 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

imental  physics,  history  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
German  social  economics,  history  of  ancient  art,  Ger- 
man literature,  criminal  law  procedure,  finances,  aes- 
thetics, history  of  the  Reformation,  state  and  inter- 
national law,  chemistry,  political  science,  and  Prussian 
administrative  law.  Some  of  these  topics  were  treated 
for  him  in  privatissima — i.  e.,  professors  lectured  to  him 
in  privacy. 

The  young  man  held  diligent  intercourse  with  his 
fellows  of  the  Borussia,  attending  their  commers — or 
drinking  and  singing  meetings — rather  regularly,  and 
showed  himself  a  true  corpsbruder,  and  hence  earned 
the  approval  of  the  others,  by  manifesting  more 
than  the  average  carrying  capacity  for  beer  and 
other  liquids.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  jolly,  deb- 
onair young  man  at  that  time,  bubbling  over  with 
animal  spirits.  To  this  day  he  remembers  with  pleas- 
ure this  period  in  his  life.  After  his  return  to 
Berlin  he  made  a  point  of  attending  the  annual 
gatherings  of  former  Borussians  residing  at  the  cap- 
ital. 

The  sixtieth  anniversary  of  the  Borussia,  which  was 
celebrated  with  eclat  at  Bonn,  in  1887,  he  witnessed 
as  an  invited  guest  in  his  capacity  of  alter  Herr,  or 
alumnus.  In  answer  to  a  toast  in  honor  of  the  Hohen- 
zollern  dynasty,  Prince  William  rose  and  made  a 
speech.  He  thanked  those  present  for  their  fidelity 
to  the  "monarchic  principle";  pointed  out  that  the 
colors  of  the  Borussia,  black-white-black,  were  also 
those  of  Prussia  and  of  the  Hohenzollern ;  foreigners 
had  often  remarked  that  these  colors  were  scarcely 
gay  enough,  but  they  corresponded  with  the  history 
of  Prussia  and  of  his  house,  which  told  of  many 
trials  and  vicissitudes.  The  Iron  Cross,  in  its  severe 
plainness,  was  a  most  fitting  symbol  of  these  strug- 
gles, which  had  lasted  through  centuries.     These  col- 

308 


THE  KAISER  IN  HIS  UNIVERSITY  RELATIONS 

ors  were  a  spur  to  the  young  Borussians  to  emulate 
their  forebears  in  the  strict  fulfilment  of  duty. 

On  May  7,  1891,  three  years  after  his  accession,  the 
Kaiser  participated  in  the  initial  commers  of  the  season 
and  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  said : 

"  I  render  thanks  to  the  previous  speaker,  and  to  all 
the  Bonn  S.  C.1  assembled  here,  for  the  cordial  re- 
ception given  me.  I  thank  the  S.  C.  particularly  for 
the  fine  torchlight  procession  of  the  Bonn  students 
which  took  place  in  my  honor  last  night.  .  .  . 

"  I  subscribe,  word  for  word,  to  the  remarks  of  the 
previous  speaker  about  the  importance  of  '  corps '  life, 
and  about  its  educational  value.  .  .  . 

"Our  mensuren2  are  often  misunderstood  by  the 
general  public.  But  we  must  not  mind  that.  We 
who  have  been  '  corps '  students  know  what  they  mean. 
Just  as  during  the  Middle  Ages  jousts  and  tournaments 
served  to  steel  men's  courage  and  physical  strength, 
so,  too,  the  spirit  and  the  customs  of  our  '  corps '  serve 
to  acquire  that  degree  of  firmness  which  is  needed 
in  later  life  and  which  German  universities  will  furnish 
so  long  as  they  exist. 

"You  referred  to  my  son.  For  this  I  thank  you 
specially.  I  hope  the  boy  will  also  be  enrolled  in  the 
Bonn  S.  C,  when  he  is  old  enough,  and  that  he  then 
will  find  the  same  friendly  sentiments  here  which  I 
have  found." 

Ten  years  later,  on  April  24th,  the  young  Crown- 
prince  was  immatriculated  at  the  same  University  of 
Bonn,  and  entered  the  same  "  corps,"  the  Borussia.    The 


1  S.  C.  stands  for  "Seniors' 
Convent,"  formed  by  all  the 
"corps"  of  a  university  town, 
and  in  which  only  the  officers  of 

3°9 


each   of   them   have   a  right   to 
vote. — Ed. 

2  Mensuren    means    students' 
duels. — Ed. 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

Kaiser  had  accompanied  him,  and  was  also  present  at 
the  initiation  of  his  son.  A  commers  was  given  by 
the  Borussia  in  honor  of  the  young  heir-apparent,  and 
to  an  address  by  a  student,  Von  Alvensleben  by  name, 
the  Kaiser  replied  at  some  length.  He  dwelt  on  his 
own  student  days,  and  then  touched  on  various  political 
aspects,  saying: 

"...  You  must  be  "glad  in  your  hearts  at  being 
young  Germans,  and  when  you  stroll  along  the  Rhine, 
when  you  wander  afoot  from  Aix-la-Chapelle  to  May- 
ence — that  is,  from  Charlemagne  to  Germany's  heyday 
of  glory,  under  the  sceptre  of  the  great  Barbarossa, 
your  soul  must  rejoice. 

"  But  why  were  all  these  earlier  glories  doomed  to 
perish?     Why  did  the  old  German  Empire  pine  away? 

"Because  it  had  not  been  founded  on  a  strictly 
national  basis.  The  universal  idea  in  the  old  '  Roman 
Empire  of  German  nationality'  did  not  permit  of  a 
development  in  the  German  national  sense. 

"The  essence  of  a  nation  consists  in  its  territorial 
limitation,  corresponding  with  the  individuality  of  a 
people  and  with  its  racial  peculiarities.  Thus  it  came 
to  pass  that  Barbarossa' s  lustre  paled  and  the  territorial 
make-up  of  the  old  empire  fell  asunder,  because  it  was 
hindered  in  the  process  of  crystallization  into  a  real 
national  entity  by  its  inherent  universalism.  .  .  . 

"  Unfortunately,  the  significant  phrase  penned  once 
by  Tacitus,  that  great  and  keen-eyed  writer  on  early 
Germany,  the  phrase  propter  invidiam,  applies  also  to 
that  phase  in  the  development  and  in  the  misfortunes 
of  the  old  empire.  The  princes  envied  the  emperors 
their  power,  as  they  once  did  in  the  case  of  Arminius, 
despite  his  great  victory.  The  nobility  envied  the 
burghers  when  these  had  become  wealthy,  and  the 
peasant  the  noble.     Propter  invidiam — how  much  has 

310 


THE  KAISER  IN  HIS  UNIVERSITY  RELATIONS 

our  beautiful,  our  dear  Germany  suffered  in  its  history 
because  of  this  accursed  enviousness! 

"...  To-day  you  are  Germans,  dwelling  on  Ger- 
man soil,  citizens  of  a  strictly  limited  German  nation, 
to  aid  in  the  welfare  and  further  development  of  which 
you  are  here  receiving  the  requisite  knowledge.  .  .  . 
The  future  expects  and  needs  you.  But  do  not  waste 
your  capabilities  and  gifts  in  cosmopolitan  hallucina- 
tions, and  do  not  use  them  in  the  service  of  one-sided 
party  tendencies.  You  will  have  to  help  nurse  the 
idea  of  firmer  national  cohesion  and  also  of  our  ideals. 
Mighty  were  the  intellectual  heroes  which  the  Ger- 
manic race  has  given  birth  to  with  God's  help,  from 
Boniface1  and  Walter,  of  the  Vogelweide,  down  to 
Goethe  and  Schiller,  and  they  have  been  a  light  and  a 
blessing  to  those  who  came  after  them.  They  exerted 
a  universal  influence,  and  yet  were  Germans  in  the 
strictly  limited  sense !  They  were  personalities — men ! 
These  we  need  to-day  more  than  ever.  Strive  to  be- 
come such  yourselves!" 

On  the  day  following,  April  25,  1901,  the  Kaiser 
attended  the  season's  first  commers,  given  by  the 
Bonn  S.  C,  and  replied  to  an  address  by  Colonel- 
General  Baron  von  Loe,  praising  this  ancient  warrior 
for  his  juvenile  enthusiasm;  and  then,  turning  to  the 
throng  of  students,  he  said: 

"...  I  hope  and  expect  that  the  young  generation 
will  enable  me  to  maintain  our  German  fatherland  in 
the  sense  which  I  indicated  yesterday — in  its  territorial 
limitation,  embracing  the  German  race,  with  neither 
malice  nor  favors  towards  any  one.  But  if  somebody 
should  dare  to  attack  us,  I  shall  appeal  to  you,  and 

1  The  Kaiser  is  here  in  error,  i  mans,"  was  himself  an  English- 
Boniface,  the  "apostle  of  the  Ger- 1  man,  a  native  of  Kirton. — Ed. 

3n 


THE  KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

I  expect  that  you  will  not  disappoint  me.1  But,  of 
course,  youth  needs  ideals,  men  they  can  pattern 
and  strive  after.  ..." 

On  June  18,  1902,  the  Borussia  celebrated  in  Bonn 
its  seventy-fifth  anniversary.  At  the  banquet,  after 
the  president  of  the  "corps,"  W.  von  Bentivegni,  had 
addressed  the  Kaiser,  who  was  present  with  his  eldest 
son,  the  monarch  made  some  remarks  appropriate  to 
the  occasion.  He  thought  that  young  students  should 
enjoy  their  youth  and  give  vent  now  and  then  to  the 
exuberance  of  their  feelings,  but  all  within  bounds. 
Then  he  said: 

"But  youth  must  have,  above  all,  ideals  to  strive 
after,  and  when  you  look  around  in  this  circle  you  may 
thank  Heaven  for  all  the  men  that  have  issued  from 
this  corps,  each  of  whom,  in  his  own  way  and  place, 
contributes  to  the  greatness  and  prosperity  of  our 
country.  .  .  .  You  were  honored  by  seeing  in  your 
ranks  the  sons  of  sovereign  princes,  to  aid  them  in 
preparing  themselves  for  the  grave  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities of  life.  ...  I  rejoice  with  all  my  heart  at 
being  once  more  in  the  midst  of  young  Borussians,  for 
youth  possesses  daring,  energy;  it  follows  the  leader 
when  he  calls,  while  maturer  age  sometimes  doubts  and 
hesitates.  ..." 


1  In  the  German  text  the  Kai- 
ser made  use  of  a  more  homely 
phrase  —  namely,  "Ich  erwarte, 
dass  Sie  Mich  nicht  sitzen  lassen," 


the  equivalent  in  as  homely 
English  being  about,  "  I  hope 
you  will  not  let  me  get  stuck." — 
Ed. 


XXI 

THE  KAISER'S  PALESTINE  TRIP 

His  speech  to  the  German  colony  in  Constantinople — Ad- 
vising the  German  Protestants  in  Jerusalem  to  show 
"Practical  Christianity" — Expressing  in  Bethlehem  his 
disappointment  at  prevailing  conditions  in  the  Holy  Land 
— Disbelieves  in  proselytizing  among  Mohammedans — 
"  Exempla  docenf' — The  Templar  colony  in  Jerusalem — 
Assuring  the  Germans  in  Palestine  of  his  protection — 
Telling  the  Mohammedans  that  the  German  Kaiser  will 
be  at  all  times  their  friend — Reply  to  welcoming  words 
on  his  return. 

It  was  generally  believed  when  the  Kaiser  set  out, 
October  n,  1898,  on  a  journey  to  Palestine,  that 
political  motives  of  a  practical  nature  were  at  the 
bottom  of  this  undertaking.  There  were  a  number 
of  circumstances  which  lent  color  to  this  belief.  And 
several  events  which  happened  since  his  return  from 
the  Sultan's  domains  furnished  a  partial  corrobora- 
tion of  this  wide  -  spread  assumption.  It  is  indis- 
putable that  since  then — just  to  mention  one  impor- 
tant general  fact — the  personal  relations  between  the 
Kaiser  and  the  Sultan,  as  well  as  those  between  the 
countries  of  these  two  rulers,  have  become  increasingly 
friendly.  There  have  been  exchanged  gifts  of  great 
value  between  William  II.  and  Abdul  Hamid,  a  thing 
which  had  not  occurred  for  centuries  past  between  the 
Moslem  autocrat  and  Christian  potentates.  The  Bag- 
dad railway  concession  was  granted  to  Berlin  financiers 
since  then, 

3J3 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

However,  it  was  at  the  time  officially  stated  in  Ger- 
many, and  is  still  being  insisted  upon  there,  that 
William  II.  was  not  guided  by  grossly  material  in- 
centives in  his  trip  to  the  Orient,  but  solely  by  reasons 
of  a  religious  nature.  And  whether  these  were  really 
the  only  ones  or  not,  certain  it  is  that  ever  since  his 
boyhood  days  the  Kaiser  had  frequently  expressed  a 
desire  to  view  with  his  own  eyes  the  scenery  where 
the  world-moving  drama  had  been  enacted  nineteen 
hundred  years  before.  The  similar  journey  under- 
taken by  his  father,  when  Crown-prince,  had  made  a 
strong  and  lasting  impression  on  his  youthful  mind. 

The  Empress  accompanied  him.  They  went  by  rail 
as  far  as  Venice,  and  thence  by  water  to  Constantinople. 
On  October  18th,  he  received  in  special  audience  a 
delegation  from  the  large  and  influential  German 
colony  at  Stamboul,  telling  them: 

"  I  thank  you  greatly  for  the  words  you  have  spoken 
and  for  the  address  you  have  handed  me.  It  gave 
me  great  pleasure  to  learn,  since  my  arrival  here,  from 
various  sources,  and  more  particularly  from  the  ruler 
of  this  country,  that  the  German  colony  in  Stamboul 
occupies  an  important  position  and  that  it  has  acquired 
it  solely  by  its  own  effort.  In  your  address  you  point 
to  the  policy  of  my  late  grandfather.  I  will  admit  to 
you  that  I  have  adopted  his  policy  for  my  own,  know- 
ing of  no  better  one  to  follow.  And  this  policy  has 
furnished  proof  that  it  is  quite  feasible  for  two  great 
nations,  although  of  different  race  and  faith,  to  become 
good  friends  and  to  be  useful  to  each  other  in  the 
pursuance  of  an  amicable  competition.  You  your- 
selves prove  this  fact,  for  you  have  succeeded  in 
winning  a  position  here  which  is  of  great  value  to  the 
German  Empire,  and  I  desire  to  acknowledge  this 
explicitly,  both  in  my  own  name  and  in  that  of  the 

3*4 


THE   KAISER'S   PALESTINE  TRIP 

empire.  I  trust  this  will  remain  so  in  the  future,  and 
you  may  hold  yourselves  assured  of  my  constant  care 
and  of  my  protection." 

The  Kaiser  made  a  brilliant  entry  into  Jerusalem  on 
October  29th,  and  on  the  same  day  visited  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  also  the  newly  erected 
Church  of  the  Saviour,  built  by  the  German  Protestants 
in  Palestine,  though  greatly  aided  in  this  by  funds  con- 
tributed by  the  Kaiser.  In  the  latter  the  Prussian 
Minister  of  Public  Worship,  Dr.  Bosse,  who,  with  a 
number  of  other  German  dignitaries,  had  accompanied 
the  imperial  couple,  made  a  formal  address,  to  which 
the  Kaiser  replied  as  follows : 

"  I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  the  sentiments  you 
were  good  enough  to  voice.  It  gives  me  particular 
gratification  to  be  able  to  witness  the  dedication  of  the 
Church  of  the  Saviour  erected  by  the  Evangelical  flock 
here.  I  owe  this  favor  to  the  kindly  feelings  enter- 
tained for  me  by  his  Majesty  the  Sultan,  and  also  to 
my  father  and  grandfather.  Mere  words  do  not  carry 
much  weight  in  the  Orient.  I  trust  that  the  German 
Protestants  will  testify  by  their  upright  lives  to  the 
truth  and  worth  of  their  religious  belief.  If  they  will 
follow  this  advice  God's  blessing  will  rest  upon  this 
new  structure.  I  hope  and  expect  this  most  fervently. 
Tell  this  to  all  the  Evangelicals,  and  especially  to  the 
German  ones  residing  in  this  place." 

While  in  Bethlehem,  October  30th,  the  Kaiser  ad- 
dressed the  people  there  assembled  as  follows: 

"  If  I  am  to  speak  of  my  impressions  during  the  last 
few  days,  I  must  indeed  say  that  I  am  vastly  disap- 
pointed.    And  inasmuch  as  I  hear  that  this  feeling  is 

3i5 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

shared  to  a  great  extent  by  others,  among  them  my 
chief  court  preacher,  I  will  not  hide  this  feeling  from 
you.  Possibly  the  extremely  difficult  and  unpict- 
uresque  approaches  to  Jerusalem  contributed  to  it. 
However  that  may  be,  seeing  actual  conditions  at  the 
sacred  places  is  enough  to  make  one's  heart  bleed.  And 
yet  it  is  a  tremendous  fact,  whose  workings  we  trace 
even  to-day — the  emanation  of  the  Creator's  love  for 
us!  And  how  little  does  that  which  we  actually  see 
correspond  to  our  apprehension  of  this  fact. 

"  I  doubly  rejoice,  therefore,  at  receiving  here  in 
Bethlehem  my  first  inspiring  impression  through  the 
means  of  the  celebration  I  am  witnessing  in  your 
midst.  Let  the  horrible  conditions  prevailing  in 
Jerusalem  teach  us  the  lesson  to  avoid,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  accentuation  of  minor  differences  in  our 
creed,  and  to  present  henceforth  a  solid  phalanx  in  the 
Orient  with  our  Evangelical  Church  and  creed,  else 
we  can  accomplish  nothing.  We  can  achieve  results 
only  by  furnishing  living  examples,  by  illustrating  in 
our  own  lives  the  truth  that  the  gospel  is  a  gospel  of 
love,  that  its  influence  is  universal,  and  that  its  fruits 
correspond  with  its  teachings.  As  for  the  Moham- 
medan population,  the  lives  and  the  doings  of  the 
Christians  can  alone  exert  an  influence.  Nobody  can 
blame  them  if  they  feel  no  respect  for  the  Christian 
name,  considering  conditions  here.  In  the  profession 
of  their  faith  the  Christians  here  show  discord  and  lack 
of  cohesion.  They  have  to  be  prevented  by  force  of 
arms  from  coming  to  blows  among  themselves.  And 
politically  one  shred  after  the  other,  on  one  pretext  or 
another,  is  torn  from  Mohammedan  sovereignty,  al- 
though there  is  not  even  a  shadow  of  justification  for 
that.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is  not  astonishing 
if  the  influence  of  the  Christians  has  diminished  steadily 
and  has  at  last  sunk  to  its  present  lowest  ebb. 

316 


THE   KAISER'S   PALESTINE   TRIP 

"  And  now  our  turn  has  come.  The  German  Empire 
and  the  German  name  have  now  acquired  throughout 
the  empire  of  the  Osmanli  a  higher  reputation  than 
ever  before.  It  is  for  us  at  present  to  demonstrate 
what  is  really  the  essence  of  Christianity,  and  to  show 
that  the  exercise  of  Christian  love  is  our  plain  duty 
even  towards  the  Mohammedan  population.  We  must 
achieve  good  results  not  by  insistence  upon  dogmas 
nor  by  controversy  or  systematic  attempts  at  conver- 
sion, but  solely  by  the  strength  of  example.  The  Mo- 
hammedan is  a  very  devout  believer,  and  preaching 
alone  will  not  accomplish  much  in  his  case.  But  our 
civilization,  our  institutions,  the  life  we  live,  the  manner 
of  our  personal  intercourse  with  him,  the  proof  that  we 
are  harmonious  and  peaceable  among  ourselves — that 
is  the  true  way  to  convince  him  of  the  justice  of  our 
claims  for  the  superiority  of  our  religion. 

"We  must  stand  at  present  a  sort  of  test  of  our 
Protestant  faith  and  our  professions,  bv  which  we 
must  show  to  them  what  Christianity  really  means 
and  by  which  we  can  enlist  their  interest  for  our  re- 
ligion and  for  our  Christian  precepts.  Strive  to  have 
this  remain  so." 

The  day  after,  October  31st,  the  formal  dedication 
took  place  of  the  Protestant  Church  of  the  Saviour  in 
Jerusalem.  At  the  conclusion  of  divine  services,  the 
Kaiser  read  the  following : 

"God  has  permitted  us  in  His  grace  to  dedicate  in 
this  holy  city,  so  dear  to  all  Christianity,  this  place  of 
worship  erected  in  honor  of  the  world's  Saviour.  That 
which  my  sires,  now  resting  in  God,  had  longed  for  and 
aspired  to  for  half  a  century,  has  at  last  found  fulfil- 
ment in  the  building  and  dedication  of  this  Church  of 
the  Saviour,  fulfilment  in  the  sense  of  my  sires,  as  pro- 

3i7 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

moters  and  protectors  of  Evangelical  institutions.  With 
the  wooing  force  of  humbly  serving  love,  hearts  are  to 
be  led  here  to  that  in  which  alone  suffering  humanity 
finds  quiet,  peace,  and  solace  for  time  and  eternity. 
With  devout  sympathy  Evangelical  Christianity,  away 
beyond  the  confines  of  Germany,  assists  at  our  cele- 
bration to-day.  The  delegates  of  Evangelical  Church 
communities  and  numerous  individual  members  of 
them  from  all  over  the  world  have  accompanied  us 
here,  in  order  to  witness  personally  the  closing  scene 
in  a  work  of  faith  and  love  whereby  the  name  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  is  to  be  exalted  and  the  spread  of 
God's  reign  on  earth  is  to  be  promoted.  Jerusalem, 
the  City  on  High,  in  which  our  feet  stand,  recalls 
memories  of  the  great  deed  of  redemption  done  by 
our  Lord  and  Saviour.  This  city  bears  testimony  to  the 
joint  work  which  unites  in  the  apostolic  creed  all  the 
factions  and  nations  bearing  the  name  of  Christians. 
The  world-renewing  power  of  the  gospel,  issuing  from 
here,  impels  us  to  heed  it,  and  it  urges  us  on,  in  con- 
templating Him  who  died  for  us  on  the  cross,  to 
Christian  tolerance,  and  to  show  love  of  our  neighbor 
in  our  dealings  with  all  men.  It  promises  us  that 
if  we  but  persist  faithfully  in  the  pure  teachings  of  the 
gospel,  even  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
our  dear  Evangelical  Church.  From  Jerusalem  came 
the  light  of  the  world,  whose  splendor  has  aided  our 
German  nation  so  greatly  in  becoming  powerful  and 
respected. 

"What  the  Germanic  peoples  have  become  they 
have  become  under  the  banner  of  the  cross  of  Golgotha, 
the  symbol  of  self-sacrificing  love  of  our  neighbor.  As 
it  did  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago,  let  to-day  also 
ring  out  through  the  world  the  cry  which  embodies  so 
much  longing  hope.  Peace  on  earth!  It  is  not  splen- 
dor, not  glory,  not  power  or  honor,  it  is  not  earthly 

3i8 


THE   KAISER'S   PALESTINE  TRIP 

goods  we  seek  here.  We  pray  and  ask  and  strive  for 
but  this  one  thing,  the  highest  good,  the  salvation  of 
our  souls.  And  as  I  renew  to-day  the  vow  of  my  sires, 
'  I  and  my  house  will  serve  the  Lord !'  so  I  demand  of 
you  likewise  the  same  pledge  on  this  solemn  day.  Let 
each  in  his  calling  and  place  see  to  it  that  all  who 
claim  to  be  followers  of  the  crucified  Lord  may  lead 
lives  in  consonance  with  the  precepts  of  our  Lord, 
which  will  eventually  triumph  over  all  the  dark  powers 
having  their  root  in  sin  and  selfishness.  God  grant 
that  from  this  spot  may  flow  back  over  the  whole  of 
Christendom  rich  streams  of  blessing,  that  on  the  throne 
as  in  the  hovel,  at  home  as  abroad,  the  fear  of  God, 
the  love  of  our  neighbor,  patience  in  adversity,  and 
labor  diligently  and  honestly  done  may  remain  forever 
the  noblest  jewel  adorning  the  German  people,  and 
that  the  spirit  of  peace  may  more  and  more  penetrate 
and  sanctify  the  Evangelical  Church.  He,  our  God  of 
grace,  will  listen  to  our  prayer,  we  may  feel  sure.  He, 
the  Almighty,  is  the  strong  tower  on  which  we  build. 
'  With  our  might  we  are  but  slight,  and  soon  are  lost 
and  done  for;  let  right  but  fight,  whate'er  betide,  for 
God  Himself  has  said  so.  Our  confidence  is  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  the  God  of  hosts ;  there  is  no  other  help 
for  us,  and  we  will  hold  our  posts!'  " l 

On  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to  the  Templar  colony  in 
Jerusalem,  November  ist,  the  Kaiser  listened  to  an  ad- 
dress by  the  leader  of  the  German  colonists,  Sander, 
and  then  replied : 

"  I  am  glad  to  meet  so  many  of  my  countrymen  here, 
and  I  thank  you  for  this  cordial  reception.  It  gives 
me  pleasure  to  be  able  to  say  that  you  have  made  your 

1  The  Kaiser  quoted  here  from  an  old  German  hymn. — Ed. 
319 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

practical  conduct  in  life  a  good  example  to  your  neigh- 
bors, showing  thereby  the  true  way  to  make  the  Ger- 
man name  respected  in  these  parts.  You  have  done 
honor  to  Germany  by  your  successful  labor  and  your 
genuine  piety,  a  fact  of  which  my  visits  to  your  other 
colonies  had  already  convinced  me,  and  have  earned  a 
fine  reputation  and  furnished  proof  how  barren  fields 
may  be  made  to  blossom  and  bear  fruit.  In  your  ma- 
jority you  are,  I  believe,  Suabians,  and  I  have  tele- 
graphed the  King  of  Wurtemberg  that  I  have  found 
his  countrymen  in  Haifa  and  Jaffa  in  a  prosperous 
condition.  I  received  a  pleasant  reply  from  him,  and 
he  asked  me  to  convey  to  you  his  good  wishes.  You 
are  really  better  off  here  than  we  others,  since  you  live 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  sacred  places,  whence 
you  may  perennially  draw  inspiration.  I  hope  that 
our  relations  with  the  Osmanli  Empire,  and  more 
especially  the  friendship  existing  between  myself  and 
his  Majesty  the  Sultan,  will  make  your  tasks  here 
lighter  than  they  otherwise  might  be.  If  any  one  of 
you  at  any  time  should  require  my  protection,  you 
know  that  I  am  ready  to  assist  him ;  let  him  apply  to 
me,  no  matter  what  his  creed,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that 
the  German  Empire  is  now  strong  enough  to  afford 
adequate  protection  to  its  members  in  foreign  parts." 

At  the  tomb  of  the  famous  Sultan  Saladin,  in  Da- 
mascus, on  November  8th,  the  Kaiser  made  another 
speech,  saying: 

"  In  the  face  of  all  the  courtesies  extended  to  us  here, 
I  feel  that  I  must  thank  you,  in  my  name  as  well  as 
that  of  the  Empress,  for  them,  for  the  hearty  reception 
given  us  in  all  the  towns  and  cities  we  have  touched, 
and  particularly  for  the  splendid  welcome  extended 
to  us  by  this  city  of  Damascus.     Deeply  moved  by  this 

320 


THE   KAISER'S   PALESTINE  TRIP 

imposing  spectacle,  and  likewise  by  the  consciousness 
of  standing  on  the  spot  where  held  sway  one  of  the  most 
chivalrous  rulers  of  all  times,  the  great  Sultan  Saladin, 
a  knight  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche,  who  often  taught  his 
adversaries  the  right  conception  of  knighthood,  I  seize 
with  joy  the  opportunity  to  render  thanks,  above  all  to 
the  Sultan  Abdul  Hamid  for  his  hospitality.  May  the 
Sultan  rest  assured,  and  also  the  three  hundred  million 
Mohammedans  scattered  over  the  globe  and  revering 
in  him  their  caliph,  that  the  German  Emperor  will  be 
and  remain  at  all  times  their  friend." 

This  speech  was  adversely  criticised,  not  alone  almost 
everywhere  outside  of  Germany,  but  also  in  the  press 
of  the  fatherland  itself.  Some  of  this  German  com- 
ment in  the  opposition  press  gave  rise  to  a  number  of 
trials  and  convictions  for  lese  majeste. 

On  December  i,  1898,  the  imperial  couple  returned 
to  Berlin.  The  ceremony  was  invested  with  all  the 
pomp  and  circumstance  which  would  have  graced  the 
triumphal  entry  of  a  conquering  hero.  The  Kaiser 
and  his  consort  on  that  day  left  the  Chateau  of  Bellevue, 
and  proceeding  in  great  state  and  with  a  numerous  and 
brilliant  retinue  to  the  Brandenburg  Gate  of  Berlin, 
they  were  solemnly  received  there  by  the  civic  au- 
thorities, headed  by  Burgomaster  Kierschner,  who  read 
an  elaborate  address.  To  this  the  Kaiser  responded  as 
follows : 

"Jointly  with  the  Empress,  I  thank  you  cordially  for 
the  reception  which  you  tendered  us  in  the  name  of  the 
city  of  Berlin.  After  our  long  journey  I  am  glad  to 
see  once  more  my  native  city.  However,  our  trip  was 
prolific  in  strong  impressions  as  to  religion,  art,  and 
industry. 

"  Of  all  these  I  will  to-day  mention  but  this  welcome 

321 


THE    KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

fact:  That  everywhere,  on  the  seas  and  on  shore,  and 
in  all  the  cities  we  have  seen,  the  German  name  has 
acquired  a  meaning  higher  than  it  ever  had  before. 
Everywhere  it  is  honored  and  respected.  I  venture 
to  hope  that  this  is  how  it  will  remain,  and  that  our 
journey  will  have  contributed  to  open  up  new  paths 
for  German  energy  and  German  knowledge  to  tread. 
And  I  also  hope  that  I  have  done  something  towards 
preserving  the  blessing  of  peace  for  all  nations." 


XXII 

THE  KAISER  AS  A  PULPIT  ORATOR 

His  sermons  on  board  the  Hohenzollem  usually  delivered  off- 
hand, without  notes — Interesting  changes  in  his  religious 
tenets — As  a  pulpit  orator  he  shows  a  striking  resemblance 
to  sensational  preachers  in  this  country. 

In  the  German  navy  there  is  a  rule  to  this  effect: 
In  the  temporary  or  permanent  absence  of  a  chaplain, 
one  of  the  higher  officers  forming  part  of  the  ship's 
complement  is  ordered  to  conduct  divine  services  on 
board,  both  on  Sunday  and  other  appropriate  oc- 
casions. These  services  are  usually  of  a  very  simple 
nature,  consisting  in  the  reading  from  a  book  of  Bible 
texts,  a  prayer,  and  a  short  and  pithy  sermon. 

The  Kaiser,  however,  proceeds  otherwise.  He  looks 
up  one  or  more  suitable  texts  from  his  Bible,  and  then, 
after  reading  them,  delivers,  as  a  rule,  a  sermon  off- 
hand, varying  in  length  according  to  the  number  of 
ideas  and  object-lessons  which  these  texts  suggest  to 
him,  the  whole  winding  up  with  a  short  prayer.  There 
have,  however,  been  exceptions  to  this,  as  when, 
during  the  period  of  the  troubles  in  China,  he  made  to 
the  crew  of  his  own  yacht,  the  Hohenzollem,  and  to 
those  of  various  German  war  vessels,  addresses  of  a 
semi-religious  nature  in  lieu  of  regular  divine  service, 
in  which  the  warlike  note  predominated,  several  times 
to  an  amazing  degree,  the  language  in  which  they 
were  couched  being,  now  and  then,  of  a  rather  boast- 
ful and  self -glorifying  character. 

323 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

Whenever  the  Kaiser  is  on  board  any  war  vessel,  or 
the  Hohenzollern,  of  a  Sunday,  he  invariably  conducts 
these  services  personally.  It  is  rather  a  pity  that  lit- 
tle has  become  known  about  the  hundred-and-odd  ser- 
mons and  religious  addresses  delivered  by  him  during 
the  past  fifteen  years  on  these  occasions.  Yet  it  is 
but  natural  that  this  should  be  so,  inasmuch  as  no  pro- 
vision was  ever  made  to  reproduce  or  preserve  them, 
and  as  outsiders  were  rigidly  excluded.  Only  a  sin- 
gle one  of  his  sermons  has  crept  into  publicity  in  its 
entirety,  its  authenticity  being  undisputed.  This  he 
delivered,  July  29,  1900,  on  board  the  Hohenzollern, 
off  Heligoland,  and  it  was  as  follows: 

"Seventh  Sunday  after  Trinity. — The  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  love  of  God  and  the  com- 
munity of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  with  us  all.     Amen. 

"Text:  2  Mos.  17th  chapt.  nth  verse:  But  as  long 
as  Moses  held  up  his  hands,  praying,  Israel  prevailed ; 
but  when  he  lowered  his  hands,  Amalek  prevailed. 
Amen. 

"An  imposing  picture  it  is  which  to-day's  text  pre- 
sents to  our  souls.  There  is  Israel,  making  its  way 
through  the  desert,  coming  from  the  Red  Sea  and  on 
towards  Mount  Sinai.  But  of  a  sudden  the  heathen 
Amalekite  people  stop  their  progress,  and  a  battle 
ensues.  Joshua  leads  the  young  men  of  Israel  into 
the  fray ;  swords  rattle  and  meet,  and  a  hotly  contested, 
bloody  struggle  sets  in,  down  in  the  vale  of  Raphidim. 
But  see,  while  the  battle  moves  hither  and  thither, 
those  devout  men  of  God,  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Hur, 
climb  up  the  mountain  -  side,  and  stretch  out  their 
hands  towards  Heaven;  they  pray.  Below  in  the 
valley  the  warring  throng;  up  on  the  mountain  the 
praying  three.  That  is  the  warlike  picture  of  our 
text. 

324 


THE    KAISER  AS   A   PULPIT  ORATOR 

"And  who  to-day  does  not  understand  what  lesson 
it  conveys?  For  again  the  pagan  spirit  of  Amalek 
has  stirred  in  far  Asia,  and  with  great  cunning  and 
power,  with  fire  and  murder,  they  seek  to  hinder  the 
triumphal  march  of  Christian  morals,  of  Christian  faith, 
of  European  commerce  and  education.  And  again  God 
has  ordered :  '  Choose  men ;  go  forth  and  fight  against 
Amalek!'  A  grim,  a  terrible  struggle  has  begun.  Al- 
ready many  of  our  brothers  there  are  in  the  combat; 
many  more  are  now  on  their  way  to  the  hostile  coasts. 
You  have  seen  them,  those  thousands  who,  answering 
the  call,  '  Volunteers  to  the  front !  Who  will  protect 
the  empire?'  are  now  gathering,  and  who  will  soon 
join  in  the  fight  with  flying  banners. 

"  But  we,  remaining  behind  here  at  home,  restricted 
by  other  and  sacred  duties,  do  we  not  hear  the  words 
of  God,  spoken  to  us,  saying:  'Go  up  on  the  moun- 
tain-side! Lift  up  thine  hands  to  the  Most  High!' 
The  prayer  of  the  just  accomplishes  much  if  it  be  but 
said  with  all  our  strength  and  faith ! 

"Well,  then.  Far  away  the  ranks  of  warriors,  and 
here  at  home  the  ranks  of  the  praying — let  that  also 
be  the  holy  battle-picture  for  to-day !  Let  this  peace- 
ful morning  hour  remind  us  of  the  sacred  duty  of 
prayer,  of  the  sacred  power  of  prayer. 

"  The  sacred  duty  of  prayer. 

"Certainly  it  is  an  inspiriting  moment  wnen  a  ship 
heaves  anchor,  with  a  youthful  crew  on  board!  Have 
you  not  seen  the  eyes  of  the  young  warriors  shining? 
Have  you  not  heard  their  thousand-voiced  hurrah? 

"  But  when  the  coasts  of  our  native  land  dwindle  and 
vanish,  when  the  ship  enters  the  torrid  heat  of  the 
Red  Sea,  or  when  she  plunges  into  the  mighty  waves 
of  the  ocean,  how  often  does  enthusiasm  vanish,  too, 
and  how  often  does  strength  depart ! 

"  Certainly  an  inspiriting  moment  when,  after  a  long 

325 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

journey,  are  seen,  far  in  the  distance,  the  straight  lines 
of  the  German  forts,  and  the  black-white-red  flag  of 
the  German  colony  becomes  visible,  and  when  brothers- 
in-arms  are  awaiting  your  arrival  ashore,  shouting 
welcome  in  the  mother-tongue!  But  later  on,  when 
begin  endless  marches  under  a  fiery  sun,  and  inter- 
minable nights,  camping  out  in  the  rain,  how  easily 
then  joy  and  courage  ooze  away! 

"  Certainly  a  longed-for  moment,  that  in  which  the 
drum  beats  to  storm  and  the  trumpets  shriek  to  attack, 
when  the  order  is  shouted,  '  On  upon  the  enemy !' 

"  But  when  in  the  midst  of  thundering  cannon  and  in 
the  midst  of  sputtering,  screaming  shells  your  com- 
rades are  mowed  down  to  right  and  left,  and  when  the 
enemy's  batteries  will  not  be  silenced,  how  often  even 
a  brave  heart  begins  to  tremble! 

".Christians!  To  enable  your  brothers  out  there  to 
remain  of  joyful  heart,  to  persist  in  their  duty  even 
when  it  is  hardest,  not  to  lose  courage  even  in  the 
greatest  danger,  it  needs  more  than  ammunition  and 
good  weapons,  more  than  bravery  and  enthusiasm — 
it  needs  approval  and  encouragement  from  on  high, 
else  they  cannot  achieve  victory.  And  this  heavenly 
world  can  be  unlocked  solely  by  prayer.  Prayer  is  the 
golden  key  to  the  treasure-chamber  of  our  God.  But 
whoever  has  it  has  also  the  promise,  He  who  prays 
will  also  receive. 

"  Or,  indeed,  are  we  to  let  our  hands  lie  idly  in  our 
laps  ?  Woe  to  us  if  we  are  to  remain  idle  and  impassive 
while  they  are  doing  their  hard,  their  bloody  tasks! 
Woe  to  us  if  we  are  to  be  but  curious  spectators  behind 
the  bars  of  the  great  arena  while  they  struggle  tensely 
in  the  grip  of  death!  That  were  the  spirit  of  Cain, 
saying  cruelly,  'Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?'  That 
were  treachery  towards  our  brave  brothers  who  are 
risking  their  lives! 

326 


THE   KAISER  AS  A   PULPIT  ORATOR 

"  No — thrice  no!  We  will  not  only  send  out  battal- 
ions of  warriors.  No!  We  will  also  aid  them  by  a 
holy  band  of  praying  allies. 

"And  how  much,  how  many  things,  we  have  to  ask 
God  for  our  brothers  going  into  the  field  of  battle! 
They  are  to  be  the  strong  arm  with  which  to  punish 
the  assassins.  They  are  to  be  the  mailed  fist  with 
which  to  set  aright  the  murderous  disorder.  Their 
sword  is  to  fight  for  our  holiest  treasures. 

"  Let  us  therefore  accompany  them  with  our  prayers 
upon  the  deep  sea,  upon  their  weary  marches,  into  the 
thunder  of  battle,  and  into  the  quiet  of  the  hospital. 
And  we  will  ask  God,  our  Lord,  to  let  them  remain 
strong  and  manful  in  their  duty,  so  that  they  will 
fight  the  foe  heroically  and  undauntedly,  that  they 
will  bear  their  wounds  bravely  and  without  complaint, 
and  God  will  give  a  blessed  end  to  those  who  fall  under 
fire,  and  will  reward  them  —  in  short,  He  will  make 
heroes  of  our  warriors,  and  conquerors  of  these  heroes, 
and  will  lead  them  home  again  into  the  land  of  their 
fathers,  the  laurel  wreath  around  their  helmets,  and 
the  medal  of  honor  on  their  breasts. 

"The  sacred  power  of  prayer. 

"  Or  do  we  not  believe  in  the  sacred  power  of  prayer? 
Well,  then,  what  says  our  text?  'As  long  as  Moses 
held  up  his  hands,  praying,  Israel  prevailed !'  The  fer- 
vent prayers  of  Moses  made  the  swords  of  the  enemy 
dull,  enabled  his  men  to  penetrate  the  hostile  ranks  like 
a  phalanx,  thus  causing  them  to  break  and  run,  and 
pinned  victory  to  the  flying  banners  of  Israel.  And  if 
the  prayers  of  Moses  accomplished  this,  is  it  to  be 
thought  that  our  prayers  will  prove  of  no  avail?  God 
has  not  taken  back  a  single  syllable  from  His  promises. 
Faithful  prayer  can  throw  even  to-day  the  dragon  ban- 
ner into  the  dust  and  plant  the  cross  upon  the  walls. 

"  And  Moses  was  not  the  only  one  whose  prayer  was 

327 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

heeded.  Look,  up  on  the  heights  of  Sodom  is  Abra- 
ham, interceding  with  his  God,  and  with  his  prayer  he 
saves  Lot  from  the  burning  city.  Should  it,  then,  be 
impossible  for  our  prayers  to  rescue  our  fighting  com- 
rades from  the  dangers  of  battle? 

"  Look  again,  and  in  Jerusalem  ye  will  see  the 
young  Christian  community  on  their  knees.  Their 
leader,  their  father,  lies  a  prisoner  in  jail.  Yet  with 
their  prayers  they  summon  the  angel  of  God  into  jail, 
and  he  leads  forth  Peter,  unscathed. 

"Are  we,  then,  to  suppose  that  our  prayers  will  not 
be  potent  enough  to  open  again  the  doors  for  those  in 
need,  for  the  prisoners,  for  those  pursued,  and  to  place 
at  their  side  a  guardian-angel? 

" '  Oh,  the  power,  unseen,  unheard, 
Of  a  saintly  pray'r! 
By  the  strength  of  faith  and  word 
Deeds  are  wrought  fore'er." 

"  Yes,  the  Lord  liveth !  Our  great  Ally  still  reigneth. 
Our  God  liveth,  the  God  who  will  not  allow  sin  and 
crime  to  triumph,  but  who  will  conduct  His  holy  cause 
against  a  wicked  people.  God  Almighty,  who  can 
seize  upon  the  strongest  walls  as  if  they  were  cobwebs, 
and  who  can  scatter  the  mightiest'  armies  like  heaps  of 
sand;  the  compassionate,  the  faithful  God,  who  bears 
upon  His  heart  the  weal  or  woe  of  every  one  of  His 
children,  and  who  hears  every  sigh  and  feels  with  us 
every  sorrow.  Pious  prayer  opens  His  fatherly  hands, 
and  they  are  filled  with  blessings.  Fervent  prayer 
unlocks  His  fatherly  heart,  and  it  is  filled  with  love. 
Yes,  faithful,  incessant  prayer  brings  down  God  Him- 
self from  Heaven,  and  places  Him  in  our  very  midst. 
And  if  God  is  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us? 

1  The  Kaiser  here  quotes  from  an  early  German  hymn. — Ed. 

328 


THE   KAISER  AS   A   PULPIT  ORATOR 

"  Well,  then,  up  in  the  Tauern  Mountains,  high  above 
all,  marvellous  bells  are  hanging!  They  are  not  rung 
by  human  hands.  Still  and  silent  they  hang  in  sun- 
shine. But  when  storms  arise  they  begin  to  swing, 
they  begin  to  ring,  and  their  ringing  is  heard  far  adown 
the  valley.1 

"God  our  Lord  has  hung  prayer -bells  in  every 
human  heart.  But,  alas!  in  the  sunshine  and  hap- 
piness of  life  they  are  mute  and  motionless.  But 
when  the  storms  of  misery  and  disaster  overtake  us, 
how  they  do  begin  to  ring !  And  many  a  comrade  who 
had  forgotten  how  to  pray  learns  out  there  how  to  fold 
his  hands  once  again.  Misery  teaches  us  how  to  pray. 
And  thus,  too,  it  shall  be  at  home.  Let  the  dark 
days  now  upon  us,  let  the  war-clouds  that  have  over- 
whelmed us,  set  the  prayer -bells  in  rhythmic  swing. 
Let  us  pray  for  our  struggling  brothers.  And  not  only 
on  festive  occasions.  No !  no !  Let  us  pray  at  all  times. 
Just  as  our  fathers  during  war-times  caused  the  bells 
to  ring  every  evening,  baring  their  heads  when  the 
sound  struck  their  ears,  and  praying,  'Remain  with 
us,  O  Jesus  Christ,  since  night  is  coming  on !'  so  in  like 
manner  let  never  a  day  pass  without  interceding  for 
your  brothers  at  the  throne  of  the  Most  High.  Moses 
held  up  his  hands  on  high  until  the  sun  went  down 
and  Joshua  had  smitten  Amalek  with  the  sharp  edge 
of  the  sword.  Our  own  battle  is  not  fought  within  a 
single  day.  But  do  not  weary.  Do  not  let  your  hands 
sink  until  victory  is  won.  Let  our  prayers  be  a  wall  of 
fire  around  the  camp  of  our  brothers. 

"And  how  it  will  strengthen,  inspire,  encourage 
them,  the  thought:  Thousands — nay,  millions  —  at 
home  bear  us  in  their  praying  hearts.  The  King  of 
all  kings  calls:  'Volunteers  to  the  front!     Who  will 

1  There  is  an  old  German  folk-lore  tale  to  this  effect. — Ed. 

329 


THE   KAISER'S   SPEECHES 

pray  for  the  fatherland?'  Oh!  if  we  could  say:  'The 
King  called,  and  all,  all  came.  Let  not  a  single  one  of 
us  miss  the  summons.  He  is  a  man  who  knows  how 
to  pray.' 

"  History  some  day  will  describe  the  battles  of  these 
present  days.  However,  man  sees  but  what  is  before 
his  eyes,  and  he  can  but  tell  what  the  wisdom  of  the 
leaders,  the  courage  of  his  men,  the  sharpness  of  the 
weapons  have  done.  Eternity,  however,  will  disclose 
to  our  gaze  more  than  that,  will  show  how  the  hidden, 
unseen  prayer  of  the  faithful  and  believing  has  been  a 
great  power  in  these  battles,  and  how  once  more  the 
promise  of  old  has  been  fulfilled :  '  Call  upon  Me  in 
thine  distress,  and  I  will  save  thee.' 

"And  therefore:  Cease  not  in  your  prayers.     Amen. 

"Prayer.  Almighty  God,  dear  heavenly  Father! 
Thou  Lord  of  hosts  and  Leader  of  battles!  we  lift 
up  our  hands  to  Thee  in  prayer.  To  Thee  and  Thy 
compassionate  heart  we  commit  those  thousands  of 
brothers  -  in  -  arms,  far  away  from  here,  whom  Thou 
hast  called  into  battle.  Extend,  we  beseech  Thee,  Thy 
all-powerful  protection  to  the  breasts  of  our  sons,  shield- 
ing them.  Lead  Thou  our  men  to  glorious  victory! 
To  Thy  heart  we  commit  our  sick  and  wounded.  Be 
their  consolation  and  their  strength,  and  heal  Thou 
the  wounds  which  they  have  received  for  king  and 
fatherland.  To  Thy  loving  compassion  and  mercy 
we  commit  all  those  who  are  destined  to  die  on  distant 
battle-fields.  Be  with  them  in  their  last  fight  and 
give  them  peace  everlasting !  To  Thee  we  commit  our 
nation.  Preserve,  sanctify,  augment  the  enthusiasm 
which  glows  in  us  all.  Lord,  our  God!  we  trust  in 
Thee!  Lead  us  in  battle.  We  praise  Thee,  because 
Thou  aidest  us,  and  our  flag  is  hoisted  in  Thy  name. 
Lord,  we  will  not  cease  to  importune  Thee  unless  Thou 
blessest  us  first.     Amen." 

33° 


THE   KAISER  AS   A   PULPIT  ORATOR 

The  Kaiser  concluded  his  services  by  reciting  the 
Lord's  Prayer  and  by  an  invocation  for  the  divine 
blessing. 

As  remarked  before,  the  above  is  the  only  one  of  the 
Kaiser's  sermons  which  has  been  preserved  as  a  whole. 
Fragments  and  telling  phrases  from  others,  however, 
have  survived.  He  has  often  referred  in  his  sermons 
to  current  political  topics  or  controversies,  and  has  not 
scrupled  to  invoke  God's  blessing  and  aid  for  meas- 
ures he  deemed  necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  father- 
land ;  and,  contrariwise,  called  upon  God  to  punish  or 
rebuke  those  men  or  measures  which  he  deemed  hurt- 
ful to  himself  or  the  country.  There  is  throughout 
an  Old  -  Testamentary  flavor  in  his  preaching.  It  is 
much  oftener  the  God  of  wrath,  the  mighty  Jehovah  of 
the  Jew,  than  the  meek,  loving,  forgiving  God  of  the 
Christian's  New  Testament  whom  he  deals  with  in  his 
prayers  and  sermons. 

In  July,  1897,  while  in  Scandinavian  waters  on 
board  the  Hohenzollern,  the  Kaiser,  being  then  greatly 
wrought  up  about  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  un- 
patriotic attitude  of  the  Reichstag,  and  more  par- 
ticularly of  the  Centre  (Ultramontane)  party  in  that 
body,  preached  a  sermon  which  virtually  consisted 
of  a  review  of  the  situation  from  his  own  view-point. 
He  spoke  in  it  of  the  sacred  trust  committed  to  him  of 
lifting  the  country  up  to  a  higher  state  of  naval  ef- 
ficiency, of  the  wilful  blindness  of  the  people's  rep- 
resentatives, and  then  came  to  speak  of  the  Centre. 
He  chose  to  refer  to  the  latter  by  names  taken  from 
the  Apocalypse,  and  by  no  means  flattering,  such  as 
the  "Great  Beast,"  etc. 

A  couple  of  months  later,  upon  the  reassembling  of 
the  Reichstag,  the  chief  leader  of  the  Ultramontane 
party,  Dr.  Lieber,  first  intended  to  introduce  a  reso- 
lution of  indignation  in  censure  of  this  language,  but 

33i 


THE   KAISER'S  SPEECHES 

finally  contented  himself  with  several  references  to  it 
in  his  opening  speech  for  the  party.  These  strictures 
drew,  however,  no  reply  from  either  the  government 
or  the  other  parties. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  impulsiveness,  not  to 
say  recklessness,  which  characterizes  the  Kaiser's  pub- 
lic utterances,  is  not  absent  even  in  his  personal  inter- 
course with  his  Creator.  And  this,  after  all,  is  per- 
haps, psychologically  considered,  the  most  interesting 
trait  in  his  sermons. 

There  is,  however,  another  point  about  him  as  a  pul- 
pit orator  which  attracts  our  attention.  "He  started 
out,  fifteen  years  ago,  as  a  professed  champion  of  the 
strictly  orthodox  school  of  Lutheran  theology,  the 
school  of  which  his  then  court  preacher,  Dr.  Adolf 
Stocker,  was  and  is  the  most  noted  chief  in  Ger- 
many. The  narrow,  rigid  tenets  that  were  inculcated 
by  Stocker  and  his  following  were  those  which  were 
given  voice  to  by  the  Kaiser  during  the  first  period  of 
his  reign.  But  there  has  been  a  gradual  though  steady 
change. 

This  is  strikingly  shown  by  the  Kaiser's  recent  deal- 
ings with  Professor  Delitzsch,  the  eminent  Assyriolo- 
gist,  and  with  the  Liberal  wing  of  Protestant  theology 
in  Germany,  having  Professor  Harnack  at  its  head, 
and  also  by  the  quasi  renewal  of  a  profession  of 
faith  made  by  the  monarch  in  a  letter  to  Admiral 
Hollmann. 

In  this  letter,  written  at  the  instance  of  the  Kaiser's 
present  court  preacher,  Dr.  Dryander,  mainly  with  the 
intention  to  set  at  rest  current  rumors,  widely  credit- 
ed, as  to  the  advanced  heterodoxy  of  the  Kaiser — a 
heterodoxy  all  the  more  serious  because  of  his  heredi- 
tary position  of  summus  e  pise  opus  of  the  Protestant 
Church  in  Prussia — it  is  made  very  plain  how  much  he 
has  modified  his  earlier  religious  views.     In  fact,  while 

332 


THE   KAISER  AS   A   PULPIT  ORATOR 

administering  a  severe  snub  to  Delitzsch,  a  professed 
infidel,  he  nevertheless  admits  far  more  in  the  shape 
of  a  rationalistic  conception  of  religion  than  the  world 
at  large  had  imagined  he  would.  And  that,  too,  por- 
trays an  interesting  process  of  evolution  in  his  soul 
life. 


THE   END 


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